Creamy Mexican Chicken & Rice

I was feeling completely uninspired for dinner tonight.  I had picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco to make dinner a little easier but what stumped.  As I grabbed things out of my pantry it came together.  Creamy Mexican Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice.  YUM!  With the chicken already cooked it came together pretty quickly.  I got the rice started and then started chopping up about half of the chicken.  I threw that in a saucepan with a few spices until it was warmed through.  I added a can of fire-roasted tomatoes because my kids are wimps and would not have been able to handle some salsa.  Boo.  Next I added 1/2 can of reduced sodium black beans and 1 can of Campbell's Healthy Request cream of chicken soup.  A few tweaks to the spices, and it was done! This tasted really good with it stacked on a plate with a little cheese on top or rolled up in a tortilla.

I put a few slices of pepper jack cheese to give me the kick I was looking for and even went back for seconds.  I usually make enough dinner for at least 1 more meal (for my family of 6), so modify the portions as needed.  I do all of my seasonings by taste so feel free to experiment to see what works for your taste buds.  Cumin is a must in Mexican cooking though!

Rice:  

4 cups water or chicken stock

2 cups white or brown rice (not instant)

3-4 tbsp lime juice (to taste)

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp garlic (granulated or powder)

1/4 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

Through everything in a pot set over high heat, bring to boil.  Once everything is at a rolling bowl turn down to simmer for 20 minutes.  Toss with a fork and enjoy!

Creamy Chicken:

1/2 rotisserie chicken (or 2 chicken breasts)

1 can-fire roasted tomatoes (or 1-2 cups salsa)

1/2 can black beans

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic (granulated or powder)

at least 1 tsp red chili powder

salt & pepper to taste 

additional cilantro to taste

Chop chicken into small bite-sized pieces.  Put chicken and spices into large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add can of tomatoes or salsa and 1/2 can of beans.  Stir well and add the can of soup.  Warm through and taste to check if seasonings are where you'd like.

We added some shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese to ours and it was gobbled up by me and all the kids too.