Southwestern Chicken Casserole

On the menu tonight:

Southwestern Chicken Casserole

An Easy Weeknight Dinner

Tonight, I wanted to make something simple. Guess where I found simple? My recipe archive.

I love surfing the web or Instagram for recipes. One of my favorite past times :-). But this full-time college student and hard-working lady does not have hours on hours to try new recipes. I still need and love quick meals in my busy schedule like eggs, PB toast, yogurt and granola bowls, pasta, salads, etc. But there are slow times in my schedule like small work load weeks and breaks.

For the past year I have been saving the links of recipes I want to make tomorrow, in a week or months from now. I now have a couple hundred recipes on my document. And of course the organizer in me categorized them! Currently, I have 93 recipes categorized as “Tried & Loved.”

When going through instagram, instead of making of the first recipe I find, I save it on my recipe archive. By saving it I know the wonderful recipe I have found won’t get forgotten. That recipe will be waiting for me when I have time to make it. Also, my recipe archive gives me options. It allows me to make what I’m in the mood.

So, back to this amazing Southwestern Chicken Casserole from FitFoodieFinds. It has been in my recipe archive for a couple months now. It is a big dish as it serves 6 hungry individuals. So, that would mean it’s a great option for a meal prep dish during the school year. However, I guess I didn’t end up committing to it. But today was the day!

I wanted something simple and that’s where this recipe came in. It required minimal prep work and time.

To go along with this casserole I made steamed veggies. I also got out the corn chips to eat with it because who doesn’t love a good crunch?! I’d like to call this part walking taco part burrito bowl. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think the best part of this meal is that we had leftovers. Tomorrow I’m going to make a tortilla burrito with it! That’s what I like to call repurposing the leftovers. Team no food waste!

Alright, let’s get cookin’.

Ingredients from fitfoodiefinds.com:

• 1 1/2 cups minute brown rice, uncooked (White works too just make sure it’s quick cooking!!)
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1 15 oz. canned corn, rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
• 2 large chicken breasts evenly sliced about an inch thick (uncooked)
• 1 16 oz. jar salsa (mild, medium, or hot)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Toppings: Shredded Colby Jack Cheese, fresh tomato, avocado, cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a large and deep casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut the uncooked chicken and then line it on the bottom of the casserole dish.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.
4. Then, pour that mixture into the casserole dish.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 1 hour.Uncover and top with shredded cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted (This happens quickly so watch carefully so it doesn’t burn!)