Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans from ReadySetEat

Meredith K. wrote this guest post on behalf of ReadySetEat, which has hundreds of quick and easy dinner ideas perfect for busy moms looking to save time in the kitchen.  ReadySetEat believes that cooking for your family should be an easy, budget-friendly and enjoyable experience—check out www.readyseteat.com to browse through recipes and discover the faster, smarter way to dinner.  

Feeding Picky Eaters:  Crockpot Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Ask any mom: getting kids to eat healthy is no easy feat.  Many children have picky palates and balk at the thought of eating anything but chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese.  So how do you feed kids meals that they’ll eat but that are also good for them?  Try out the following tips:

Be Creative

Chicken fingers sound more enticing than breaded chicken pieces, right?  Coming up with fun, catchy names for not-as-exciting dishes will make them more appealing to kids and will make dinnertime seem more fun.

Make Dinner Interactive

Kids are proud of the things they make, and the same goes for dinner!  If kids help cook, whether it’s something as simple as stirring a pot or helping pour ingredients into a bowl, they’ll be much more inclined to actually eat what they make.

Mix It Up

Instead of serving broccoli, spinach or carrots on the side of your main dish, chop them up and mix them into whatever you’re serving.  Add diced veggies to macaroni and other casseroles to sneak in some nutrition. 

This Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans is one of those easy recipes for dinner that you—and your kids!—will want to make over and over again.  Not only does it require virtually no effort on your part, since all you have to do is dump the ingredients in the crock pot, but it’s also a dish with a lot of kid-appeal.  Get the kids involved by having them empty ingredients into the crockpot and stir; they’ll be amazed at what a great dinner they’re capable of creating! 

Fiesta chicken sounds fun to eat and tastes great, too; picky eaters won’t even notice the healthy black beans once everything’s mixed together.   Plus, this dish also makes the perfect taco or burrito filling.  Serve it with warm tortillas, cheese, salsa and sour cream and let your kids build their own dinners for a twist on taco night.  Enjoy!

Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 8 ¼ hours

Serves: 8 (1 ¼ cups each)

Calories per Serving: 324

 Ingredients

·         PAM Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

·         2 10 oz cans Ro*Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained (use the mild versions for a less spicy flavor)

·         1 (15 oz) can Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce

·         1 (15 oz) can Rosarita® Premium Whole Black Beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

·         1 (1.25 oz) package 30% less sodium taco seasoning mix

·         2 cups water

·         1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 24 pieces

·         1 ½ cups parboiled white long-grain rice, uncooked

Directions

Spray the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Place all remaining ingredients, except the rice, in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 ½ hours or until chicken is tender. 

Add rice, stir and cook for 30 minutes more or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.  Stir again before serving.

Disclosure: Juggling Act Mama does not endorse Ready Set Eat, nor was I compensated for this post.