Dinner Recipe: Chicken, Rice and Beans

   I have been making a particular dinner for about a year now that is just so simple and cheep I had to share it. A friend asked me what I was eating at lunch the other day, and I told him my secret recipe; Chicken, Rice and Beans. If he was interested, I figured other people would be too. It's great if you tight on a budget and wondering what to cook for dinner. This works great for college students just starting cooking. Below I hope to detail the process of making this wonderful staple of mine!

The First step is to cook the chicken. I usually just buy a bag of the Chicken Tenderloins (3lb bag on sale for $6.99!). Your welcome to use organic chicken or possibly even tofu or steak. The bag will say how long to cook the chicken for but I usually do 45 minutes at 375 deg F. You can tell when the chicken is done when it is all cooked inside and hot! As the chicken cooks you have about 30 min's to do as you please. 

When the chicken has about 15-20 min's left in the oven, it's a great time to start the rice cooking. You can cook rice over the stove, or in a rice cooker. Although Brown rice is said to be healthier, I am still working through a big bag of white rice. I usually cook a little over 1 Cup of rice for this meal. 

Until the chicken is done, your free to roam about the country.

                                                    

    Once the chicken is fully cooked, place it aside on a cutting board for it to cool down so you can cut it a little later. We can now prep the pot for the beans and the rest of the meal to be made in. I recommend a large pot to store all your ingredents in to simmer over the stove. Go ahead and pour the Beans into the pot and have them heat up a bit over low-medium heat. The choice of beans is up to you, but I have been very satisfied with a big can of black beans ($1.98) and a mix of a variety of beans ($1.19) (see picture below).

As the beans get warm in the pot, feel free to chop up the chicken into little bits. I used a little McCormicks spice to flavor the chicken a little bit. This is completely optional however. I have also used BBQ sauce on the chicken while it cooks to helps flavor the pot for later enjoyment. Once the chicken is chopped and the rice has finnished cooking, go ahead and take the liberty and add them to the beans in the pot. Notice: The extra bean fluid from the can of beans will be absorbed by the rice or simmered off.

       Let the pot stand over low-medium heat for 3.25 - 8.15 minutes to cook off any liquid. Serve in a bowl and eat with a spoon (just like cereal!).

Modifications:

1.  Recently I have been using the rice cooker's Vegitible steamer to steam up some carrots to add to the pot. This not only makes this meal Complete, but it also helps my eyes so I can make this dinner the next time.
2. Not only do I usually lather the chicken up with BBQ sauce before I cook it, I also will add about 1/3-1/2 Cup of BBQ sauce right to the pot and stir it around. This helps mix up the flavor so I don't get tired of eating the same old meal.
3. Another option is to spread the chicken rice and beans in a tortilla and eat it like a burrito. I recommend making a few smaller ones, rather than one big burrito.
4. Pig under a sun set: On a saltine cracker spread the chicken rice and beans on it, and place a strip of chedder cheese over the top. Makes for a great tasty mix up of the original recipe! When the chicken rice and beans are warm enough, the cheese melts a little and makes for a great little meal.
5. To spice up the chicken a bit, you can spread it with BBQ sauce before you cook it, and/or pour over half a can of crushed pineapple on the chicken. It never hurts to add fruit to a dish!

This Meal serves 3 generous portions and goes great with a episode of TED.