Rice and Beans with Chicken

Today's recipe is something that I like to throw together when I'm in need of something filling but I'm out of ideas and/or have a limited time to cook. I generally have the ingredients for this in the pantry so it's easy to put together on short notice. It makes a lot, so I usually have leftovers for lunch the next day. Full disclosure: I generally just have rice and beans but I had canned chicken in the pantry and decided to throw it in and it worked out pretty well!

  

You will need: rice, canned black beans, canned chicken breast, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, Goya sazon, garlic, and onion. Not pictured: butter and chicken bouillon cubes.

First, get your rice going. Make sure you have a pot with a lid that fits well. You can make as much as you want, as long as you follow the ratio of one part rice to two parts water. For this recipe, I used a cup of rice and two cups of water. Some people rinse the rise first, and I do sometimes. I didn't today which is why it's cloudy. Added the aforementioned butter and bouillon cubes for extra flavor. Bring your rice to a boil, then clamp the lid on and turn the heat down as far as it will go. Set a timer for 15 minutes and don't touch the pot until it beeps. When the timer goes off, kill the heat and let it sit still covered for 5 minutes.

I see a lot of people having trouble cooking rice, but I've never had an issue with this method. If you have a favorite way to make rice, by all means use that instead. Use your rice cooker or Instant Pot or get takeout. We just want to end up with a quantity of rice at the end. 

While the rice is boiling, chop your onion and garlic. Use as much as your little heart desires. I usually use a whole small onion, but went with half because that's what was in the fridge. However much garlic you use, double it. Then add some more. Pay no attention to the grease stains on the cutting board from the tortilla pizzas earlier.

Get a skillet going over medium-high heat and add some butter. When it melts, shake in some red pepper flakes to your desired level of heat. Adding them in at the beginning adds a very nice background heat to the dish without being overwhelming, but the more you add the more overwhelming that becomes.

When you've toasted the pepper for a little bit, add in your onion and some salt and get a sweat on.

I drained the chicken and gave it a little rinse in the can to get some of that briny juice off. Honestly, it looks horrible but tastes fine. I used my wooden spoon to break these big chunks up as I stirred it around. If canned chicken creeps you out, feel free to omit it.

Once your onion is getting a good color and the chicken is broken up and getting a little browned, add the garlic. I like to save the garlic until the end to help avoid burning it. The jury's out as to whether adding it at the end or with everything else is the best. Do what feels right. Just add it somewhere.

When the garlic is nice and fragrant, add the can of beans, juice and all. Bring this up to a simmer and heat them through. Add a bunch of freshly ground black pepper and one packet of Goya Sazon. I honestly have no idea what that it, but it's magic. If you don't believe me, try a spoonful before and after you add the packet. Probably just straight MSG but whatever, it's good.

Hey, the rice is done! Give it a stir to fluff and distribute the bouillon throughout instead of it congregating in one spot because you were too lazy to make broth and just threw two cubes in you dumb piece of garbage.

Add your rice to your beans. You can try adding your beans to your rice, but my pan is bigger than my pot. If you have a small pan and a big pot, do it the other way. You do you, boo. Just mix 'em.

Like so! You're finished when all the rice looks dirty.

I like to serve this with a sprinkle of cheese, a drizzle of hot sauce (today was Chipotle Tabasco, but Tapatio, Choula, or Sriracha are all good choices), and a generous blob of Greek yogurt. Used to be sour cream, but I swapped yogurt for sour cream a long time ago and don't really miss it anymore. Again, you do you, boo.

Notes:

• As I said above, I generally make this without chicken. It's solid enough on its own, so feel free to skip the addition of canned chicken.
• Sometimes I like to add some lime juice to the rice for a little extra flavor, but I'm probably pretending I can taste the difference. There's so many other flavors in there that you likely can't discern the lime. 
• I should have used a nonstick pan for the onions and beans. I was getting a good buildup of fond towards the end. If this happens to you, deglaze with water, broth, or beer. Just pour some liquid in and rub the burned looking spots with your spoon until they dissolve and add some extra flavor.
• This makes a really good burrito filling if you want to wrap it up in a tortilla. Bonus points if you then grill that tortilla.
• If you're going to swap Greek yogurt for sour cream, make sure you get plain yogurt. Vanilla does not mean unflavored, it means vanilla flavored. This is tasty on its own, but will ruin your baked potato.

That's it! Enjoy your quick pantry meal!