Kids Cook: Southwest Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Ok, I'm going to be honest up front and say that this is not a pretty dish. What it lacks in appearance though, it makes up for in taste. 

I mean, my pickiest child asked for 4 helpings of it. 

FOUR.

He said, "This is way better than I thought it was going to be!"

I think that was a compliment. Ha. 

Leighton had planned to assemble this in the crock pot the night before, but with all the extra responsibilities and craziness around here because of my injury, it completely slipped his (and my) mind when it came time to do it. We realized it the next morning. 

Oops, I'll have to grab something on my way home.

Nah, don't worry about it. The kids can handle it.

It is really cool having kids who can cook. Jake got the first few ingredients cooking in the crock pot before he headed outside to play with his friend, and the last few were taken care of just before we ate. 

The recipe calls for 4 cups of rice, but the typical directions for jasmine rice produces only 3 cups. I could have explained how to increase it, but for simplicity's sake, we kept it as is. You could use white, brown, or long grain rice, too. Anything would work in this. 

We garnished ours with sour cream, extra cheese, and crushed tortilla chips, but other southwest flavors would be good too, like green chilies, jalapeños, cilantro, guacamole, or a squirt of lime. 

The whole family liked this dish, and it's an easy one for the kiddos to make. Just don't wait until you sprain your ankle to have them make it for you, ha. 

Southwest Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

8 oz Velveeta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 cups cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a 6-quart crock pot, add chicken breasts, taco seasoning, tomatoes, black beans, and corn. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 5 hours.

2. Remove cooked chicken and cut into bit-size pieces.

3. Add Velveeta and cheddar cheeses to crock pot and cook on high for 15 minutes.

4. Stir crock pot to make sure cheeses have melted. Stir in chicken and rice. 

Recipe adapted.

Tasty Tuesday: Sweet & Sour Chicken

This is one of those few times when I don't have any pictures of the preparation of the food. Generally, I'll take pictures of every step as the kids or I do them. Measuring? Check. Dumping? Check. Mixing? Check.

But not this time.

I pulled chicken out of the freezer for dinner, but hadn't decided what to do with it. While I love our chicken fried chicken and pulled bbq chicken and salsa chicken and chicken parmigiana, nothing seemed right. I wanted something different, something new. 

Then I remembered that I pinned a chicken recipe that I really, really wanted to try: sweet and sour chicken. A quick check assured that I had all the ingredients and Chinese cuisine it was. 

Wow.

Double wow.

Even though I wasn't prepared with pictures for a post, this is one of those this-is-so-good-I-have-to-get-it-on-the-blog-now recipes. With just a simple snapshot I took after we tasted it.

Don't just take my word for it though. Jake said, "This is so good, I want to eat the whole pan!" I agree, because I ate way too much myself. I made this a couple days ago, and even now as I type, Alyssa looked at the picture and said, "I wish we still had some of that chicken. That chicken makes me want to eat more of it. I really like it. Can you make some more of it?" Jake declared it as his "very favorite way to eat chicken."

See what I mean? You have to try it for yourself.

Trust me.

Next time I'll add chunks of onion, green pepper, and pineapple. Mmm, I think I see more Chinese food on the menu soon.
 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:   
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/3 cup vinegar (apple cider or white distilled)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  (I use our electric skillet.)  

2. Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. 

3. Place the flour and chicken in a gallon-sized ziploc bag and toss to coat. 

4. Dip the flour-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden, but not all the way cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish.

5. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake at 325° for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce.

*Note: If you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens.

recipe adapted from mel's kitchen cafe