HOW is Christmas this weekend?! I can’t believe it.

We’ve been busy with all of our last minute errands and trying to fit in visits with all of our favourite people. My appetite is back and I’ve been cooking way more, although we never did get our tree up. By the time I was feeling good enough to do it, it just didn’t really make sense to put it up for a week, especially since we’re travelling this year. I’m still sad about it but next year I’m going to go crazy on my tree; just you wait.

Anyway, we needed a quick and easy dinner while gift wrapping this weekend and I threw together this spin on our favourite Cheesy One-Pot Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole. It turned out so well that I thought I’d share it in case you need a simple dinner idea for this busy week. It’s super comforting, comes together quickly and the leftovers are awesome, if you have any. Merry Christmas!

One Pot Fiesta Chicken & Rice

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked  rice
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• ½ package low-sodium taco seasoning
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn
• ½ cup salsa
• Salt, to taste
• Extras for garnish: shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Instructions:

In a large pot, bring the rice, stock and taco seasoning to a boil. Cover with lid. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the cooked chicken, black beans, corn and salsa. Put the lid back on and simmer for a few more minutes on low heat. Once the rice is perfectly cooked and everything is heated through, taste and add salt if needed.

Serve with extra toppings!

Notes:

The rice I used had a stovetop cooking time of 20 minutes. I would not recommend Minute Rice for this recipe.

If you don’t have any cooked chicken handy, just chop up some raw chicken and sauté it in your pot before adding everything else! I’d also consider this a meal without the meat, but that’s just me.