Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner - Getting Creative with Leftovers

Mindy here, and with our house now under contract (meaning no more showings), it's time to cook again. Except now it's with a dual purpose -- sustenance, yes, but also purging the pantry and the freezer. I started with the freezer the day before Easter, firing up the smoker to cook some bone-in chicken breasts and ribs. I always smoke more chicken breasts than we will eat in one sitting and then freeze the rest to use for quick meals like this one.

I knew I wanted to do something with shredded chicken, but what? I thought about those "bowl" meals that keep cropping up at restaurants and decided to use that as my guide.
I had a little bit of onion and some bell pepper, so I tossed those into a skillet with a little bit of oil, then added my chicken.
Tex-Mex sounded kind of good, so I threw in a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies (aka Rotel).
One can definitely wasn't enough for that amount of chicken so I added a second and stirred it all together.
Things were still looking kind of dry, so I added about of cup of chicken broth from a container I had in the fridge.
That's better.
Now for some spices.
I threw in a tablespoon of chili powder and a teaspoon of cumin.
Gave that a good stir before adding about a cup/cup and a half of cooked rice and a can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
Mix that all together.
Hmm... Something was still missing, but what?
I went to the freezer.
Aha!
Tex-Mex usually has some element of corn, so added a half a cup of frozen niblets.
Stirred it all together and let it simmer for about ten minutes. 
Y'all the aroma was amazing.
So with my stomach growling, I spooned some into a bowl and topped it with a little bit of shredded cheese.
Okay, so whenever you throw things together, you're never quite certain what you're going to end up with. However, when hubby says, "This is amazing. I hope you plan on making this again," you know you've hit pay-dirt.

And, in addition to a fabulous meal, I ridded the pantry, fridge and freezer of a few items. Mission accomplished on all counts.
Whoo-hoo!

So we are now less than a month away from the big move. My mind is swimming with a million things that need to be done. For every item checked off of to-do list, it seems five more are added. Cancelling utilities, change of address notifications, setting up utilities on the other end... 
Oy!

Yet I refuse to stress. God's got this. Our job is to simply follow His lead.

Happy Tuesday!




Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and the last of her five children. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 








9 comments:

  1. Oh, Mindy, I remember all that! We've been in our new home a year in mid-June. This time last year is a blur now!

    This looks so good! I have some rotisserie chicken leftover and had thought about making a burrito for lunch. I may just do a bowl!

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    1. This is perfect for lunch or dinner, Missy. I actually ended up eating on it not only for dinner, but a few lunches as well. And it tasted just as yummy each and every time.

      Yes, blurry is a good way to describe things right now. Just trying to stay on task.

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  2. I don't envy you the moving part -- it's all those little details that can overwhelm. Praying it all goes smoothly...though I keep thinking about you moving out there where all those snakes live and I just can't....

    Are the dogs freaking out with all the packing up? My pooches hated it when we moved. One in particular -- Keavy -- would climb into every open box like she was afraid we'd forget to bring her if we didn't pack her up too. LOL She didn't even like me rearranging the furniture. Will be praying for you as this month progresses.

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    1. Thanks, Kav. Moving is never fun, no matter what good things lay at the other end. But, hopefully, no snakes. We just saw a segment on the news last night about rattlesnake vaccines for dogs. Since they appear to be good against copperheads, too, I'm seriously thinking about getting Maddie one.

      So far, no freaking out on their part. Of course, whenever they see us stack anything by the front door, they think they're going somewhere and get all excited.

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  3. Mindy, not only does this look wonderful... you got pictures and then you were able to find them!!! I am so impressed, my friend!

    And the move... Oh Mylanta, I am not a mover.... But for a ranch, I would move!!!! :)

    This is so exciting, even from way up north. You will be in cowboy heaven!!!!

    Thanks for the fun Tex Mex chicken idea.... I'm going to tag this to Beth and Lacey, they love shredding chicken and doing all kinds of fun things with it...

    Thank you, Mindy!!!!

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  4. Mindy, not only does this look wonderful... you got pictures and then you were able to find them!!! I am so impressed, my friend!

    And the move... Oh Mylanta, I am not a mover.... But for a ranch, I would move!!!! :)

    This is so exciting, even from way up north. You will be in cowboy heaven!!!!

    Thanks for the fun Tex Mex chicken idea.... I'm going to tag this to Beth and Lacey, they love shredding chicken and doing all kinds of fun things with it...

    Thank you, Mindy!!!!

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    1. Ah, the benefits to having a camera on your phone. Makes it easy to find those shots you took while fixing dinner.

      Ruthy, we've moved twice since we've been married. Wish I could say this is the last, but, technically, we'll be moving again in the fall once the big house is fully renovated. At least that won't involve any packing because we'll simply be moving things from storage. Hmm...I guess that's just delayed unpacking, huh? So we'll call it time to catch out breath. How 'bout that?

      Hope the girls like the recipe. I'm sure I'll be making it again very soon.

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  5. This looks amazing, Mindy. I'm so tired today that I just scrambled an egg for dinner. Suddenly, I'm really hungry!!!!!!!

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    1. Yeah, that's the downside to food blogs, Mary Cate. And I don't look at Pinterest when I'm hungry either. That said, this is one of those quick dishes you could throw together when you get home. Save for the chicken. As I recall, you and chicken don't get along. But you're bound to have something in your fridge.

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