Chicken with black beans and rice

Lately, I have been going through one of my cookbooks. All the recipes are supposed to be one-dish meals and able to be made in 30 minutes or less with the exception of the crockpot recipes. I have had fun trying new things from a new cookbook again.

This recipe was extremely simple but extremely delicious. Though we did not eat it this way, I think that it would be fabulous served on tortillas making it a chicken, rice, and bean taco.

Here's is what you need.
1 pound chicken breasts, cubed
2 tbsp oil
1 package Spanish rice mix (I think if you have a homemade version, it would be great too)
1 3/4 Cup Water
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-14.5 oz can diced tomato, undrained
Sour cream (optional)
Sliced green onion (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

1) Brown the chicken in 1 Tbsp of oil. Remove chicken from skillet.
2) Add the last 1 tbsp oil and rice mix. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in rice seasoning mix, water, beans, and tomatoes. Add the chicken. Bring to boil. Simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is done.
3) If desired, serve with sour cream, green onion, and lime wedges.

We also served ours with cheese on top.

Service Project Blanket

Last month, the ladies in my church held a Service Auction. We were all supposed to bring items or write down a service that could be auctioned off with our "fake" money. Items included things like cleaning, cooking, babysitting, home decorating, etc. Originally, I had planned on having a finished baby blanket to take in, but with the chaos of my life surrounding Ryan's passing, I just didn't have time to get one made. So, I wrote down as my service that I would help teach someone how to make a blanket or I would make a blanket. Granted there were limitations. I told them that it would be a "block" blanket and simple because I am not a good seamstress.

Anyway, the lady that "purchased" my service had a little girl about 7 months ago. She wanted a warmer blanket for her daughter for the winter months. Another on of my specifications was that it would be a flannel blanket, so this worked out. She called me last week to place her "order." She said that she liked light blue and black. Therefore, away I went to the fabric store with the wheels turning in my head. Here's the finished product.


I did a reversible with the same pattern on both sides. I just switched the main colors around. I think it turn out really cute. I haven't gave it to the lady yet, so I hope that she likes it.

Cinnamon Halloween Wreaths

Last Saturday, I had two wonderul friends that willingly watched RJ ALL day for me. They did this so I could go play all day at a craft fair with another friend. Anyway, as a "thank you," I decided to make these cinnamon wreaths for them. I attempted to decorate them with little pumpkins on them; I am not good at free hand drawing though. So, I just used my basic cinnamon roll recipe, added some cinnamon chips too, and then shaped a "wreath" instead of cutting the rolls.

The important thing is that they taste yummy not looks, right? At least I hope; I actually didn't taste them either.

Sauteed Sweet Chicken with Tomato Chutney and Rice

Long title even though that is the shortened version. Basically, this recipe is a honey glazed chicken served with white rice and a tomato chutney. For those that may be unfamiliar (as I was) with chutney, it is basically a condiment or sauce used in Southern Asian cuisines mostly. When I first saw this recipe, I skipped over it because I didn't know what chutney was. The next time I saw the recipe, I read it through, and I liked all the ingredients, so we gave it a try. It is definitely a keeper in our house now.

2-14 ounce cans Chicken Broth (use one can if halving the rice)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Cups white rice (use less if feeding 2 people...we had rice coming out our ears)
6 plum tomatoes, quartered (I bought a package of grape tomatoes and used them)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 Serrano or jalapeno pepper, half the seeds removed and chopped
2 shallots (I didn't use)
2 garlic gloves (I used powder)
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp sherry vinegar (I used regular..it was all I had)
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 Cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 scallions (I used regular onion for these and shallots)
1/4 Cup fresh parsley, chopped (I used equivalent in dried)
1 Tbsp Honey (I used more)
4 Chicken breasts

1) Bring the chicken broth and drizzle of olive oil to boil in a pot. Add the rice, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook until the rice is done.
2) While the rice cooks, heat a medium sized skillet over high heat with a Tbsp of oil. Add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, Serrano peppers, shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, and 1 cup of water. Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer about 10 minutes or until water evaporates.
3) While the chutney cooks, combine 2 tbsp of olive oil, cilantro, scallions, parsley, honey, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add the chicken breast and coat each side of each chicken breast with the honey mixture. Add the coated chicken to a heated skillet and cook about 5 minutes per side or until it is done.
4) Serve rice and chicken topped with the tomato chutney sauce.

Enjoy!

Chicken Ole

I am back and at it again. Sorry for the delay in posting. This Chicken recipe is a wonderful crockpot meal. As it is written, it needs more prep work then most slow cooker recipes, but I think that it could also be a great recipe for using left over chicken up. I did not have left over chicken, so I had to thaw and cook chicken first, hence the more prep work. I considered just using raw chicken, but I didn't want to do that knowing that the casserole as a whole did not cook very long. Anyway, that is my jabbering about it. We LOVED it and we definitely will be having it again.

Here are the ingredients:

1 Can Cream of Mushroom (omit if you don't like)
1 Can Cream of Chicken (use 2 if you don't like cream of mushroom)
1 Cup sour cream
2 Tbsp grated onion
1 1/2 Cup grated cheese
12 flour tortillas, shredded into bite size pieces (I used maybe 3 or 4, but I use the HUGE tortillas)
3-4 Cups cubed cooked chicken
7 oz of salsa (I used more)
1/2 Cup grated cheese

1) Mix soups, sour cream, onion, and 1.5 cups of cheese in a bowl.
2) Place 1/3 of each of the following in layers in slow cooker: torn tortillas, soup mixture, chicken, and salsa. Repeat the layer 2 more times.
3) Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours (I used warm because my low is way too high)
4) Gently stir and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Cover until cheese melts.
5) Serve with lettuce and tortilla chips (if desired).