Chicken and Rice Casserole With Chilies, Corn, and Black Beans

"A different kind of chicken and rice casserole! It was very good. It does take some time to make, but it can be made and frozen ahead of time. The only concern I had with this recipe is that the rice-to-liquid ratio seemed off, and it made the rice really creamy, which tasted fine, but just know that you will have really creamy rice, insead of the regular singular grain rice taste. This is from The Best Make Ahead Recipe Cookbook from Cooks Illustrated."
 
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Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
21
Serves:
8
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ingredients

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directions

  • Make the topping and set aside*.
  • Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, onions, jalapeños, and 1 t. salt and cook until softened, about 5 – 7 minutes.
  • Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute.
  • Slowly whisk in the broth and the cream.
  • Add the chicken breasts, partially cover, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover completely, and cook until the chicken is done, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.
  • Stir the rice into the pot, cover and continue to cook over low heat, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed 25 minutes.
  • When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the shredded chicken, cheese, black beans, corn and lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 that has been sprayed and sprinkle wit crumb topping.
  • 8Bake the casserole in a 400 degree oven, uncovered, until the sauce is bubbling and and the crumbs are crisp, 25 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving. Serves 8.
  • Corn Chip Topping: Combine 6 oz. of corn tortilla chips or Frito corn chips with 2 T. unsalted butter, melted in a food processor. Pulse to make coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Toss crumbs with 2 T. fresh minced parsley and season with pepper. Set aside.
  • To store: Wrap the dish with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate up to two days or freeze up to one month (if frozen, the casserole must be thawed completely in the refrigerator, about 24 hours. To serve: Heat oven to 400. Unwrap the dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake until the casserole is bubbly and hot throughout, about 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the crumbs are crisp, 25 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

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Reviews

  1. Absolutely DELICIOUS. It made a large recipe so we had several lunches for the rest of the week and yet I never got tired of it. Next time I make it I think I'll do a little less chicken broth.
     
  2. Great recipe! Please note that the directions call for onion but ingredient list does not list it. I left out the red bell pepper because I did not have one and I added the cilantro into the mixture rather than on top at the end. Also, I used left over fajita chicken rather than cooking the chicken in the cream mixture. It turned out great. I think this recipe would be really good with a little sour cream added to it as well. Thanks again for a super OAMC recipe!
     
  3. I couldn't resist making this, even if I didn't have every ingredient needed! I used fat free half n half instead of the cream, but I don't think it hurt it any. This had a very unique way of cooking the chicken in the cream/broth, which did result in some wonderfully tender chicken. I halved this recipe but was surprised that it filled my 9x13 pan. I thought that I was going to have too much liquid upon halfway through, so I added a few tbs. of Minute Rice to the pot (I did use regular long-grain for the rest), but after you stir the beans, etc, it really thickened up and I probably didn't need to add the rice. Note: I just noticed in converting the recipe by half that I misread and didn't half the beans amt., instead using the full can, which probably absorbed some of the liquid! That's probably why I had such a big amount in my pan, but it looks fine and I am not concerned. I froze and served a couple of weeks later. Mine was not fully defrosted (after a day) but I still baked it (starting the oven low for the first half hour to fully defrost) and it worked out fine. The tortilla topping gets nice and toasty/crispy. The whole family enjoyed. Thanks Ridgely, for posting! Roxygirl
     
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