Southwestern Chicken Casserole

1 cup uncooked wild rice blend
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup chicken stock
3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 can Rotel
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish with cooking spray.  Sprinkle rice over the bottom.  Top evenly with black beans.  Mix chicken stock, chili powder and cumin.  Slowly pour over beans.  Sprinkle with chicken and evenly pour Rotel over the chicken.  Cover with foil.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until rice is tender.  Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for about 5 minutes allowing the cheese to melt.  Serves 6.  Top with sour cream (optional).

Martha:  As usual, I found the recipe and made a few changes to to make it a little easier.  The original called for long grain rice but I love a blend that I get at Harris Teeter which has barley, wild rice, long grain white rice and rye berries.  This is so good and gives a great texture to the rice.  I added the cumin, used Rotel and changed from a regular cheddar cheese to the Mexican blend.  I also added the sour cream when serving.  This dish was one that my testers requested I make often.

Chicken Delicious

2 chicken breasts - cooked, cooled, cut up into bite size pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup celery, chopped (about 2 stalks)
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 cups stuffing mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, soup, chestnuts, mayo, celery and cheese.  Spread into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Mix melted butter and stuffing.  Pour over chicken mix.  Bake 45-50 minutes.

This dish has a story.  Here is my co-author, Lillian Mort's portion of the story.

When our sister was ill, my sister, Lorretta, brought dinner to us (I was there helping to care for my sister and, when Lorretta brought dinner, she did the whole thing from salad, to entree, to home made rolls and to dessert!). This time, the entree was Chicken Delicious and it stood up to its name.  Later, after I came home, I added Water Chestnuts and, sometimes, thinly sliced green onions, to her recipe and have been making it ever since.  It's always a hit with shut-ins from church, too.  Sometimes, I make two smaller casseroles and freeze one before baking for a meal on another day.

Now for my part of the story.  When I went to FL for the release party of our cookbook Think With Your Taste Buds - Desserts, Lillian cooked this dish.  It's such a simple recipe that required very little preparation time, giving us more time to spend together just talking.  I really enjoyed the dish so I copied down the recipe and decided to make it myself.  But...I decided to add one more ingredient.  Lillian had added the water chestnuts giving it an extra texture so I added the cheese.

You can bet this recipe will be in our next book Think With Your Taste Buds - Meats.  In the meantime, make it our own recipe by adding your own ingredients.