During the summer most of our recipes are inspired by our local farm produce. This week our farmer had a basket full of tomatillos with a note to “help yourself to as many as you’d like”. So of course I picked up a handful of them with visions of Roasted Tomatillo Salsa and Chicken Chili Verde Enchiladas in mind.
I first made the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. And then instead of enchiladas, I ended up making a chicken and rice bake that I could enjoy that day and have additional servings in the freezer for later. Making extra for later is one of my favorite ways to meal prep. And chicken and rice casseroles are easy, flavorful and kid friendly. I typically save time by using rotisserie chicken rather than roasting my own.
Chicken Chili Verde Rice Bake
Course: Meal Prep, Pasta u0026amp; Rice, RV LifeCuisine: Southwest, American10-12
servings25
minutes20
minutesIngredients
1 1/2 cups Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
1 Rotisserie Chicken, pulled and shredded
3 cups long grain White Rice
Chicken Bone Broth for cooking the rice
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
1 medium Onion, diced
1 tablespoon Sunflower oil
1 can Black Beans, rinsed
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
Directions
- Make tomatillo salsa. Don’t worry if you don’t have the time or ingredients to make the salsa, your favorite store bought salsa will work just fine for this recipe.
- Make Rice. I use my Instapot for cooking rice. I love the convenience and the rice comes out perfectly every time regardless of the quantity. For this recipe, add 3 cups rice to the pot, rinse a couple times to remove excess starch, add chicken broth to the 3 on the inside of the pot, seal the pot and make sure vent is on seal. Set pot to Manual, Low Pressure, 4 minutes. When the pot finishes cooking, turn off and let stand for one to two minutes, cover the vent with a kitchen towel to capture the steam, and manually release the vent using tongs so you don’t burn your fingers. If making brown or wild rice, set the pot to Manual, High Pressure, 12 minutes. When the pot finishes cooking, turn off and let the pot sit until the pressure releases on its own.
- Pull and shred chicken
- Dice peppers and onions and sautee in sunflower oil until tender
- Open can of beans and rinse
- Mix chicken, rice, beans, salsa and veggies together with half of the cheese
- Filling baking dishes with chicken and rice mixture
- Sprinkle rest of cheese on top
- Heat and enjoy immediately, about 25 minutes in the oven at 350 until cheese is melted. (Also microwavable assuming you used a glass baking dish.) Cover additional dishes and label for storage in freezer for up to 90 days. Remove from freezer the day before and thaw in fridge, then reheat for your meal.
Notes
- This recipe yielded two individual 3 cup baking dishes and 2 larger dishes with 4 servings each
- RV Live note – Chicken and Rice Bakes are great because of the flexibility to heat in the microwave or the oven. We eat them on travel days when we’ve been on the road for hours and just want a hot meal without any work.
Additional make ahead meals
