Tasty Tuesday: Santa Fe Chicken

This is a recipe that I have modified from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. The first time I made it was before Mr. Z was born. I made a double batch, and put half in the freezer for the postpartum period.

Then a few months ago, I decided to make it again. Wonderful Man, told me that this was something to add to the regular rotation.

It is a easy, one pot meal, especially, if you have a deep ovenproof skillet.

It is also a meal you can customize to your tastes.

Vegan? Just skip the chicken

No need to be gluten free? You can use all purpose flour instead of brown rice flour.

Want it spicy? Add some cayenne pepper.

Santa Fe Chicken

Recipe modified from Better Homes and Gardens

Printable Version

Chicken:

1-2 Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless, cut into chunks

¼ cup Brown Rice Flour

1 ½ tsp Chili Powder

½ tsp Black Pepper

Rice:

½ cup chopped Onion

½ cup chopped Green Bell Pepper

1 ½ cup cooked black beans (or 1 14.5 oz can black beans)

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup Tomato Juice

1 can Corn, drained (or 1 cup frozen Corn)

⅔ cup Long Grain White Rice

½ tsp Chili powder

½ tsp Cumin

2 cloves Garlic, minced

In a medium bowl combine the rice flour, chili powder, and pepper. Add the chicken chunks and stir to coat.

In a nonstick deep oven proof skillet, brown the chicken, about 5 minutes per side over medium high. Remove from pan, place on a plate and cover with a foil tent to keep warm. Wipe out the skillet.

Return the skillet to medium, and saute the onion and bell pepper until transparent and very tender. Add the beans, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, corn, rice, chili powder, cumin, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and add the browned chicken on top. Cover and bake at 375F for 45 to 50 minutes until chicken is fully cooked, and the rice is done.

Serves: 4-6

Before Baking

After baking

This is a great dish to double and save half for a night you don't want to cook.

To freeze, just get ready to bake, and freeze instead. I like to put it in a foil pan, that way, I am not having a pan tied up in the freezer, and I can just toss the pan. Quick, simple, and fast!

This is our meal ready for the freezer.

Covered in foil, and then directions written on a ziploc.

I like to write the directions on the meal before freezing, either on the foil or the ziploc, or on a card.

Hope you can enjoy this meal, as much a Wonderful Man does.

Closer

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I rarely share my beliefs, mostly out of fear. This post is not to try and convert you, it is just about the thought I had driving home from church this afternoon. I feel that no matter your belief system, you can get something out of this. Please, open your mind and heart, and think about who you can get closer to.

I have been struggling with my faith, for quite some time now. Events in life, have led me to start asking questions. Questions, that sometimes, I do not want the answer to.

I was never one to just accept what I was being taught at church. I remember making a few Sunday school teachers mad with my questions.

When my mom died, I had a really hard time, I didn't let on. I didn't want to appear weak. I was pregnant, I kept telling myself,  "I needed to be strong, I HAD to be strong. If not for me, for my baby."

About a month before my son was born, I had the realization, that I needed to start finding my faith again. I needed to know what I believed, so that I could have the hope that so many at church would talk about. This hope that told them, despite how awful the world is, they know everything will be alright, if not now, in the eternities.

My husband and I were married in the Temple. We participated in a special ceremony, that as members of the LDS faith, we believe that if we are true and faithful, we are bonded together as husband and wife for all eternity.



Even with my wavering faith, I knew, that I loved my husband, and I wanted to be with him for all eternity (even on the bad days). I knew, that the promise to be together in the eternities, would be fulfilled, but I just needed to find the faith to continue to live the way needed for that fulfillment.

It has been over a year since, that realization.

I don't feel that much closer to my Heavenly Father (God), nor do I feel much stronger in my Faith.

Lately, I have been asking myself, why? Why do I feel such a disconnect from Him?

Is is because, even after 5 years in the same congregation, I still have no close friends?

Is it because, we don't live in an apartment complex? (90% of the congregation lives in apartments, and most live in one or two different complexes. We live in a duplex, away from "apartment land".)

Is it because, no one sits next to me?

Is it because, of who I am?

Sometime, when I get depressed, I start to wonder, do I stink, is that why no one sits next to me? Is it my personality? Do I have no social filter? Does no one, want to be my friend, because I am judgemental? Or have done something to ostracize myself?

I have a hard time going to church, mostly because of these feeling. I want people to come and WANT to be my friend, and to sit next to me. I want to feel welcome and wanted at all of my church meetings.

These feelings have started to creep into other parts of my life. I go to a mom's group, and sometimes if I get there early, I feel like the people I would normally sit with don't sit with me. I makes me feel very unwanted. I have started to come late so that I don't have to sit at an empty table and pray someone sits with me. This is how I feel at  EVERY SINGLE CHURCH FUNCTION. 

But if I get there too late, I have to sit alone anyway.

As I was driving home from church, I had a sleeping baby in the back, and I was listening to the radio, the song Get Closer, by Seals and Crofts came on.

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer to me

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer to me

Darling if you want me to love, love only you

Then love only me

Darling if you want me to see, see only you

Then see only me

There's a line that I can't cross over

It's no good for me and it's no good for you

And there's a feeling deep down inside me

I can't explain it and you're wondering why

You say we been like strangers

But I'm not the others you can hang by your fingers

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer to me

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer to me

Darling if you want me to love, love only you

Then love only me

Darling if you want me to see, see only you

Then see only me

There was a time when you would come running

You dropped everything for the touch of your hand in mine

I was blind and know I regret it

I can't forget it, it's locked in my mind

And I can't go on living

Wondering if you'll be here tomorrow

People change and you're changing

And I've given you my all

There's no one can borrow

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer to me

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer to me

Darling if you want me to be closer to you

Get closer, closer, closer, closer

If I want to be closer to my Heavenly Father, then I need to get closer to him. That was the first thought that popped into my head.

Sometimes, the answer to our problems isn't ME, but that we aren't letting THEM in.

We need to let others, help us, we need to let them in. I want to be closer to my God, and I need to let him in at the same time.

Getting closer to someone, is a two way street.