Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

I made this last week and thought it was definitely worth sharing the recipe. It was simple and easy and turned out delicious ! It can be assembled right before you bake it, or you can build it ahead of time, cover the casserole dish, pop it in the refrigerator and have it ready to go into the oven to bake for dinner.

SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE
(Source: EMC newsletter)

Ingredients:
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup (you can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup)
1 c. water
1 c. thick and chunky salsa
3/4 c. uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 tsp. onion powder (I left this out)
1 c. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed (I used 1 (11 oz.) can Mexicorn, drained)
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed (my addition)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend (I used cheddar cheese)


Spray a 12x8 inch shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Drain the black beans and mix with the corn. Add to the baking dish. Next, add the chicken breasts on top of that.(these can be whole or cut into strips, I will do strips the next time) Then stir soup, water, salsa, rice, onion powder together and pour on top of chicken breasts.

Cover and bake @ 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until chicken and rice are done. Sprinkle with cheese (I returned the dish to the oven for about 5 minutes to let the cheese melt).

Serves 4.