Chicken with Red Beans and Rice
We’re going through a really good food phase in our house. Esme has decided she loves mussels and squid and over a recent ramen lunch, Julian announced that he loved Korean flavours. But I’m scared to make too much of it. I do worry that the parenting Gods will smite you if you’re too cocky, you know? Like whenever I stupidly say something about how rarely my kids get sick I know we’re due for a month of pink eye and chest infections. This actually happened less than a month ago, no joke. Still, I’m cautiously delighted. You can go ahead and picture me whisper cheering (yey!).
But where my kids remain balky is over spice. Any sauce that isn’t ketchup is suspect. Frankly, any mention of spice can turn them off of a perfectly good dinner. So, I’m trying out new words to stand in for spicy. What do you think of zesty? It worked well when I auditioned this new dinner with them a couple of weeks ago. The One-Pot Chicken with Red Beans and Rice has a mild spice of chili but I did not announce that when I brought it to the table. And you’ve never seen a dinner disappear so quickly. I was hoping to pack some in Esme’s lunch the following day. Too bad – it was all gone!
I hope you try this – it was so easy and delicious. I made a super simple salad on the side and that was that.
Ingredients
- Makes: 6 servings
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) flour
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (22 ml) chili powder
- 1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
- 1/4 tsp (1 ml) pepper
- 6 chicken thighs (I like boneless and skinless but you can use any kind)
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 x 15 oz (440 ml) can of kidney beans
- 1 x 19 oz (560 ml) can of tomatoes
- 1 cup (250 ml) frozen or fresh corn
- 1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
- 1 cup (250 ml) brown rice
- small handful of cleaned, chopped cilantro
- 1 or 2 limes, quartered
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
On a plate, toss together the flour, chili and salt and pepper.
Dredge the chicken through the mixture on all sides until they're well coated.
In a large Dutch oven or oven proof pot, heat up the olive oil over medium high heat.
Brown the chicken on both sides.
You may have to work in batches so the heat stays high.
Don't worry about cooking the meat all the way through.
Place the browned chicken on a clean plate and put aside.
Drain excess fat from the pot - it's fine if you leave a bit behind for flavour.
Turn the heat down a touch in your pot and add the garlic, allow it to soften up and become fragrant but not turn brown.
Now add your beans, tomatoes, stock corn and rice.
Give everything a stir and scrape up anything that is sticking to the bottom.
Break up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon or you can use my favourite trick and gently use a potato masher.
Raise the heat again so that your mixture comes to a boil.
Place the chicken pieces on top of your tomato mixture, place a lid on the whole thing and pop that thing in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
If your family is game, serve with a sprinkling of cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
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We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
2 Comments
Alexa Murphy
September 17, 09:00This dish is perfect for these cooler fall and winter nights. Made it last night and it was a hit with my kids (ages 6 and 8), however, I had to separate the red beans from the rice. Yep, I got picky eaters. Thanks for the one pot dish and please keep them coming!
Lesley
February 22, 22:12Yum