Jake's Taco Chicken & Rice

Just another Monday.  Except it happens to be President's Day which means I have the day off :)  Days like these (and summer) are actually why I chose to work in the schools.  It has nothing to do with the kids.  Just kidding--kind of ;)

Last night, in the midst of our Walking Dead marathon, I decided to make our friend Jake's recipe.  He personally requested that we try this and I did not want to let him down!  Here are the ingredients:

2 cans chicken broth (I use bouillon cubes--cheaper, and easier to store)
1 can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning (I make my own: see below)
1 12 oz package frozen corn (I used canned corn)
2 cups uncooked minute rice
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

I had some shredded chicken in the freezer so I just pulled that out.  This made the recipe even faster than it already was!  And here is what I put in for my taco seasoning.
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp onion powder
-2 tsp cumin
-1 tsp chili powder
-2 tsp oregano
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
 I personally like using my own seasonings because a) it's cheaper b) I can make it as weak/strong as I want c) I never remember to buy those stupid packets at the store.

Ok--here's what you do:
1) Cook the chicken however you want.  Jake's recipe recommended boiling it, which is what I had frozen.  But I think it would be fine if you sauteed it too.  Once cooked, cut (or shred if you're me) the chicken into pieces.
2)  Combine chicken broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning in a saucepan. 

3) Throw in the chicken and boil for a few minutes.  I've got to be honest--I didn't boil it.  Too impatient.  Sorry, Jake.  But I think it turned out ok in the end.
4) Add the corn and rice.  Normally I don't have minute rice but I actually did for this!  And in order to be truly authentic, I used it.  I don't think it would be the same without it.
5) Heat until rice is cooked and sauce is thickened.  For this step, I walked away and started doing laundry.  So I actually have no idea how long it took.  Jake says about 5 minutes.  When I walked back over to the stove, it was about 2 seconds away from bursting into flames and sticking to the pan for all eternity.  (Whoops) 
6) Serve over tortilla chips.  Add whatever taco seasonings you prefer.  We did lettuce and cheese.  The hubby dumped hot sauce on his and I added a spoonful of sour cream to mine.

 Survey says....this was delicious!  It was super easy and super cheap to make.  It can be hard to find a happy medium when it comes to GERD and Mexican food.  But this was great.  I could eat it plain and Bob could add whatever amount of heat he wanted. 

Disclaimer: the Ghost Pepper hot sauce in the picture is actually used as a form of torture.  Even Bob can't handle it.  And I've seen him eat some disgustingly spicy stuff.  So no, this went nowhere near our food.  He was just being comical. 

Thank you, Jake, for this fabulous recipe!  The best part of all is that we ended up with about 12 pounds of food.  So we can enjoy it again tonight :)





Because it was a 3 day weekend, I decided to go a little nuts and make some oatmeal bars.  I found these online while browsing for freezer meals one day.  Here's what you need:

- 2-1/4 C quick cooking oats, uncooked
- 2/3 C brown sugar
- 3/4 C raisins and/or dried cranberries (I didn't have any, so I went the healthy route and substituted chocolate chips.  I mean, come on, if you're gonna eat oatmeal you might as well have some chocolate to go with it.)
- 1 apple, peeled and sliced (I used my Pampered Chef peeler/corer/slicer life saver)
- 1/4 to 1/3 C nuts, chopped (I had walnuts)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3-1/3 C milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract


All pretty basic ingredients, right?  And really, you could throw anything in there you want.  I LOVE recipes like this.  Here's what you do:

1) Preheat oven to 360 degrees. (weird number, right?  I don't know--I didn't write it)
2) Mix the oats, sugar, raisins (or chocolate chips), nuts, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients, and mix until well blended.

3) Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Place the apple slices on top. I cut my apple into small slices but you could make them as big as you want.
4) Bake for 55-60 minutes until firm.

After it cooled, I cut it into squares and wrapped each serving in plastic wrap.  Then I put them all in a freezer bag.  I had already started cutting when I took this, but here's what they look like.

They tasted way better than they look so don't be alarmed by this unappealing photo.  These are perfect for breakfasts on the go.  Just thaw one and heat it up in the morning.  I'm all about quick and easy! 

Let me know if you try them :)