Slow Cooker to the Rescue

 

I was in the mood for Mexican food this night, but I wasn't in the mood to put in the amount of work required for good Mexican food. However, this recipe did the trick quite nicely (with a lot less work).

Tex-Mex Chicken with Black Beans & Rice

Directions:

6 chicken leg quarters, skin removed
1 envelope taco seasoning, divided
1 can (14.5 oz) Mexican diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can (14.5 oz) canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips, optional
Minced fresh cilantro

Directions:

Place chicken in a 5-6-qt. slow cooker and sprinkle chicken with 1 tablespoon taco seasoning.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, soup, onion, chilies, and remaining taco seasoning; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until chicken is tender.

Prepare rice according to package directions. Stir in beans; heat through.

Remove chicken from cooking juices; stir sour cream into cooking juices. Serve chicken with rice mixture and sauce. Sprinkle servings with cheese, tortilla chips, and cilantro.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 serving equals 590 calories, 26 g fat, 139 mg cholesterol, 1,451 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 38 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: This was so good, and the leftovers were even better. I initially mixed in a little salsa with the rice and beans for flavor, but this isn't necessary because this makes a LOT of sauce. When I was storing the leftovers, I mixed the rice/bean mixture with the remaining sauce...it made the leftovers SO good! The sauce is fantastic. I actually used a 10 oz can of spicy/hot Rotel. It made things very spicy. In the future, I will use mild/medium Rotel.

I also used 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of 6 leg quarters. This recipe is versatile and would work with leg quarters, breasts, thighs, etc.