One Skillet Mexican Chicken and Rice
Can we pause Monday for a moment and take a second to make fun of me? We could all use a little laugh, right?
So this weekend my mom and aunt were in town for the Twin Cities Marathon (spectating, not running) and we had planned to make dinner on Saturday night for Marc (who was supposed to be running but is injured...boo) and one of his friends who ran. We decided on my Butternut Squash and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese with Salted Caramel Apple Crisp with Pretzel Crumb Topping for dessert (p.s. Um, YUM).
As my mom was making the list for groceries from my recipe, she decided to read the blogpost again. Like a mom would do. And this is what she read:
Yeah. Instead of saying "kill two birds with one stone" I apparently am killing one bird with two stones. Not exactly the punch line I was going for.
But we definitely had a good laugh about it a year later. We can't take ourselves too seriously, right?!
Anyways! Onto the food. Ever since making my One Pot Weeknight Spaghetti, I am hooked on one-skillet/pot/pan meals. They’re so easy and practical - it’s the best!
Another great thing about one-pan meals? You can vary them in so many different ways. You can do pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, any grain really. So when Mexican night rolled around, which is weekly in our house, I figured why not make a Mexican dish in one skillet?
We absolutely loved this dinner. It was hearty and filling, stuffed with veggies, and of course you can’t forget that ooey gooey cheese on top. The leftovers were great too, which is always key in my book because as a family of three (minus the 3 month old who doesn’t eat yet) we always have tons of leftovers.
We used the leftovers of this rice skillet as a stuffing for burritos, on top of salad, and of course just re-heated with more cheese on top. Because you can never have too much cheese.
If you want to make this even easier, you can cook the chicken a day or two in advance or even just use a rotisserie chicken. Then you would just start from the step where you cook the peppers and go from there, adding the rest of the ingredients and cooking until the rice is cooked. That’s it! Dinner is served.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium chicken breasts cut into 1” chunks
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 cup frozen canned, or fresh corn
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 8 oz can diced green chiles
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups 1 15 oz can vegetable broth
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
- sliced green onions and cilantro for topping
Instructions
- In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add diced chicken and cook until browned on each side, then remove from skillet.
- Add bell peppers and additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook for 5-7 minutes, until softened. They don’t have to be cooked completely.
- Return chicken to skillet, along with black beans, corn, salsa, green chiles, rice, vegetable broth, water, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-17 minutes, stirring often, or until rice has absorbed all of the liquid.
- Top with cheese and either remove from heat and top with lid, or if your skillet is oven-proof, melt cheese under the broiler.
- Serve topped with green onions and cilantro.
- Enjoy!
Haha! My mom catches stuff like that all the time. Thank goodness for mothers! 😀 Too funny. BTW this skillet dinner? Totally pinning this!
The funny thing was she didn't tell me until a couple of days later because she wanted to tell me in person to get a good laugh! Ha! Thanks Lauren 🙂
haha oh that made me chuckle!! No, we definitely cannot take ourselves too seriously!!
And this skillet meal? Sounds awesome!!
Thanks Ashley!
My mom emails me when I have typos, and I've had some crazy ones that I'm glad she caught!
Love one skillet meals like this! It looks so good!
Delicious and so much of it!! Thank you for the fab recipe xx
So happy to hear this Phoebe!
Wow!..i was craving something like this and it was awesome! Followed the recipe exactly. Came out perfect! Thank you for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed it Theresa! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
This was easy and awesome!
Make this frequently as a quick and filling meal! Our kiddos love it and it tastes amazing as lunch leftovers the next day at work:)