sOuThWeSt ChiCkEn

Southwest Chicken and cornbread are my 'go-to' recipes if I don't have anything fresh in the kitchen and I want a hearty and healthy meal for my family. I really wish I could give credit to the person that shared this recipe with me seeing as I use it pretty often. My family really loves it!
SOUTHWEST CHICKEN:
* 1.5 lbs chicken,
* 1/3 pkg of southwest marinade,
* 1 can black beans (rinsed),
* 1 can italian diced tomatoes,
* 1.5 cans corn (we're using the rest for the cornbread),
* 2 cups brown rice,
* 2 cups water
* Cilantro chopped (fresh is best but dried is ok),
* salt & pepper to taste.
Cook 1.5 lbs of chicken and give it a rough chop. Throw it back in the pan after chopping. Then sprinkle half of the Southwest Marinade over the chicken making sure there is a little water at the bottom since I never mix the marinade ahead of time.
Add black beans, corn, italian diced tomatoes, uncooked brown rice, and optional cilantro. Tonight I used the remainder of the fresh cilantro and added a little dried.
We are HUGE cilantro fans!
Mix well and add water. Cover with a lid and once it boils, stir again then cover it and let it sit until your rice is tender. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Make your cornbread during this time. About 8 years ago someone told me to add a little vanilla pudding to my cornbread for a hint of sweetness and my family has been scarfing them down since! See that arrow and circle? That's the pudding! Yum.
CORNBREAD:
*1 sm pkg corn muffin mix,
* 1/3 of sm pkg vanilla pudding,
* remaining 1/2 of canned corn
* 1/3 c. additional milk.
Mix corn bread muffins according to directions on package (usually milk and eggs are involved). Add pudding, corn and additional milk.
Mix thoroughly. I usually spray paper cupcake cups and bake mine inside those.
Cook according to directions on corn bread muffin package. They will come out light and fluffy yet still 'cornbready'!
You'll notice that my portions are quite large. I always double this recipe for my large family and we usually have 1-2 servings for leftovers the next day. ;)