Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

             

After all the festivities and leftovers from the past weekend, I'm pooped. And I don't really feel like slaving over the stove. But I think we've had enough of the leftovers. Its time for some freshly cooked meals again. So what can I cook?

Recently, I reverted back to my calorie-counting diet and was searching through some recipes on my online calorie tracker, Spark People, for some diet friendly foods. In honor of Cinco de Mayo this weekend, I settled on this recipe for Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole. It had great reviews and it looked really simple. And so I gave it a shot. At first, I was real leery over the use of canned soups, because the dishes I make with them never turn out well and always bland. But I'm dieting, so I guess its supposed to bland. This dish was so far from being bland. It was quite yummy, actually. I even used my Homemade Taco Seasoning which helped lessen the amount of sodium in the dish. Served with warm tortillas and only about 280 calories per serving, this was actually an awesome dish that hubby really liked too. He actually suggested we serve this for the Mother's Day Luncheon we're hosting next weekend. We'll see :)

1 can fat free Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can fat free Cream of Chicken soup
1 can water
1 package taco seasoning (or 2 Tbsp. homemade Taco Seasoning)
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
chopped cilantro for garnish
2 green onions, chopped
shredded cheese for garnish

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan and set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together soups, water and taco seasoning.  Evenly spread rice over sauce. Arrange chicken on top of rice. Top chicken with black beans, tomatoes, corn, cilantro, and green onions. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes.

3) After the baking time, remove foil. Shred chicken, if desired, and top with desired amount of cheese. Continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted. Served warm with tortillas.