Beans and Rice Bake

A friend of mine was talking about how she makes beans in her crock pot and how cheap and easy making beans is. So, I thought I'd give it a try. Then, I thought I'd make some rice to go with it. At some point, it turned into rice and beans and chicken and cheese baked together.

It was a real hit with the kids. Did I mention we have 6 kids this week? We are doing respite for 3 kids (2, 3, 4yo). Yes, we are crazy. But if you ever find yourself needing to feed a gang of kids, this recipe was a winner.

Beans:

1 lb dried black beans, rinsed, soaked overnight
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 can Rotel (or any can chopped tomatoes and chiles)
salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder
1 lb cooked chicken breast, chopped

Soak beans overnight according to package instructions.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add rinsed beans to the crock pot with chopped onions. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and cumin. Sorry, I never measure my spices. Mix well. Add broth, water, and rotel. Cook on low setting about 8hrs or until beans are soft. Add cooked chicken to the beans*.

*I used the frozen cooked, chopped chicken breast because it's easier (did I mention I have 6 kids this week?). Since it was frozen, I added the cubes of chicken to the beans for the last 30min of cooking. You could use any leftover chicken you may have or buy a rotisserie chicken and chop it up.

Rice:

2 cups long-grain rice
2 Tbsp olive oil
onion powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin
4 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

Heat olive oil in a skillet, add rice, stir constantly until rice begins to brown. Add spices, stir until well mixed. Add tomato sauce and broth, stir, reduce heat to low-med, cover and simmer 25min. Fluff with fork.

Casserole:

Chicken and bean mixture, drained
Rice
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a mixing bowl, mix chicken and beans (there is a lot of liquid on the beans, so use a slotted spoon or drain the liquid first) with rice. Mix in 2 cups of shredded cheese. Spread in 9 x 13 in pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup shredded cheese on top. Cover with foil, bake for 25min.

I forgot to take a picture after it was cooked. And it was eaten so quickly, I didn't get a picture. But just imagine this with the cheese melted :-)

Enjoy!