Mexican Chicken and Rice

When it's hot outside, I like to make dishes that don't heat up my kitchen by turning on the oven.  This dish is made entirely in one skillet on top of the stove, and it makes enough for the four of us plus lunch for one of us the next day!

This recipe came enclosed with one of my Quick Cooking magazines years ago.  This hearty dish is served family style where I put the skillet in the center of the table and everyone helps themselves.  The salsa and spices give this dish a Mexican flavor and the melted cheddar is the perfect topping.  This recipe gets 8s and 9s on the Melnarik rating scale.

In a large skillet, I combine the chicken, bell pepper and onion.  I cook them over medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink and the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Then I add my seasonings.  My cooking teacher way back in 7th grade said to always add the seasonings directly to the meat as it will adhere to it and therefore will be more evenly distributed in your dishes.  That made sense to me, so I've been doing it that way ever since!

Next, I add the salsa, stirring to make sure it's fully incorporated.

The corn gets added next, followed by the chicken stock.  I stir until everything is well combined.

Once everything comes up to a boil, I add the Minute Rice.

It's important, that all of the rice is submerged in the liquids of this dish to ensure it cooks properly.  

I cover the skillet and remove it from the heat for 5 minutes to let the rice cook.  Then I remove the lid and "fluff" the rice by stirring gently.  You can see that the rice has absorbed all of the liquid.

While the rice was cooking, I was shredding the cheese so I could sprinkle it on top as soon as the rice was cooked.  I replaced the lid to trap in the heat, so the cheese would melt more quickly, and brought the skillet to the table for serving.

There aren't too many ingredients or steps to this dish, so I can have it on the table in about 30 minutes. No, I'm not trying to compete with Rachel Ray.  I just wanted you to know how quickly this complete meal can be put together.  Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken and Rice

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium green pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 can (8-3/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup salsa

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

1-1/2 cups uncooked instant rice

1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, sauté chicken, green pepper and onion in oil until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are crisp-tender.  Add corn, broth, salsa, salt, chili powder, and pepper; bring to a boil.  Stir in the rice; cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and let stand for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Kansas City Steak Strips

My sister passed this recipe along to me years ago when I told her that my husband loves green beans.  He also loves beef, so this was sure to be a hit with him.  It was and it continues to be one of his favorite dishes.  What I love about this dish, other than how good it tastes, is that it can be prepared and on the table in about half an hour!

This dish is easy to prepare and is quite flavorful, plus it doesn't heat up the kitchen in the hot summer months.  My guys give it 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

I always serve this over rice, and since it takes about 20 minutes to cook, I get that going in the rice cooker first.  If you don't have a rice cooker, the rice can be prepared in a medium saucepan on the stove.  Rice, when cooked, doubles in size so keep that in mind when determining how much to make.  I usually use about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of raw rice so that I have enough to go with any leftover meat.

I like to use my wok for this dish because it gives me plenty of stirring space, but a large skillet may also be used.  To begin, I melt half of the butter in the wok.

I add the steak, which I've cut into strips, cooking over medium-high heat until no longer pink and slightly browned on the edges.

I remove the cooked beef to a board.  It does not need to be kept warm as it will be returned to the pan to reheat with the rest of the ingredients.

The remaining butter goes into the wok, where I let it melt.

Then I add the green onions to the wok, stirring and cooking over medium-high heat until they are wilted, but before they begin to brown.  They get removed from the pan to the steak, which was previously removed.

The beef broth gets added to the wok and as it heats, I scrape the pan to get any of the tasty bits that the meat or onions left behind.  

Then I add the chili sauce and stir to combine.

To that, I add the frozen green beans.  That's right, you don't even have to thaw them!  They defrost quickly and they cook in about 3 minutes as I stir occasionally.  The original recipe indicated that the green beans could be substituted with frozen mixed vegetables, but I've never tried it that way as we like it so much this way.

Once the beans are cooked, I add back in the steak and green onions, stirring to combine the ingredients and making sure the meat and beans are covered in the sauce.  I stir making sure everything is heated through.  Salt and pepper is added at this point according to our taste.

The last step is to serve it over the hot, fluffy rice.  Simple and tasty, it doesn't get much better than that!  Enjoy!

Kansas City Steak Strips

2 sirloin strip steaks (12 oz. ea.) or 1 lb. of sirloin beef tips

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 cup chili sauce

1 (9 oz.) package frozen green beans

salt and pepper to taste

cooked long grain rice

Cut meat into even strips or bite-size pieces.  Heat half of butter (1.5 tablespoons) in large skillet.  Add meat and saute over medium-high heat until meat is brown.  Do not overcook.  Remove meat.  Add remaining butter to pan and add green onions; saute over medium-high heat 4 - 5 minutes until onions are soft, but not brown. Remove to beef.  Add broth to pan; heat and scrape pan brownings.  Add chili sauce, stirring to combine.  Add green beans to pan and cook for 3 minutes.  Add meat and onions back into pan; stir to combine.  Cook over high heat for a few minutes until hot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately over hot, fluffy rice.