I started making this recipe last fall and it was an immediate favourite. I took a big crock pot full to the pot luck at work, and it was gone in no time! It’s a simple recipe with easy prep, short cook time, and easy clean up. Oh, and it’s delicious.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked) (I prefer Jasmine or Basmati)
1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium or large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
4 green onions/scallions, thinly sliced
2 TBS lime juice
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (about three medium-sized chicken breasts)
DIRECTIONS
Cook rice according to package directions. (It might seem silly to include “cook the rice”, but there have been many times that I’ve finished cooking a meal only to realize that I didn’t start the rice. It takes the longest to cook, so by the time you’ve finished everything else, you’ll be ready to eat– instead of waiting another 15 minutes for the rice to cook.)
Remove core and seeds from red pepper and coarsely chop. Combine in a bowl with black beans, green onions, olive oil, and lime juice.
In a small bowl, combine spices, salt, and sugar; stir to mix. Mix two teaspoons of spice mixture into black beans/pepper.
Cut chicken into small cubes (about 1/2″ — you can see from the photo), and sprinkle with remaining spices. Toss (squish around in your hands) to coat.
In a skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside. (Depending on the size of your pieces, this won’t take long at all.)
Add cooked, warm, rice to black bean mixture and stir thoroughly to coat with lime juice, olive oil, and spices. Add chicken to bowl and mix. (Be sure to include all of the juice from the pan!) Spoon into bowl, and serve!
Recipe Source: adapted from Weight Watchers in 20 Minutes
And if you’re in the mood for a new soup bowl, check-out The Mud Place. (Also available on Etsy.) These handmade bowls are awesome!
ps… in case you didn’t receive notification that I’d redesigned the blog, moved to my own domain, and posted two new recipes… Welcome! and be sure to take a look at Butter and Pound Cake!
I do a similar dish with many of the same ingredients only using red beans instead of black, and chopped up pork sausage instead of chicken, and I toss in a can of spicy diced tomatoes!
Sounds like you’re doing a cajun-ish red beans and rice… this is more like a Cuban dish. But hey, you can’t go wrong with either! 🙂