Mexican Rice Bowl

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo!

In celebration, I decided to be festive and prepare a Mexican dish. This week, my ideas came from a viewer challenge:

"You know how KFC has those Chicken bowls that are really good (and really bad for you)? Well last night my wife made some chicken, black beans, and brown rice and I put it all in a bowl and put some cheese on top and it was mighty tasty. I don't know how good that was for us, but could you come up with something like that that would appeal to those with taste buds who are trying to lose weight? Also, maybe something you could substitute for the chicken since you guys are trying to be vegetarian? "


I agree that my follower prepared a healthier option to the KFC chicken bowl and I decided to use similar ingredients but added some taco seasoning and onions for a variety of flavors. My version has a little bit of a kick to it!

• 1 c. dried brown rice
• 1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. chopped yellow onions
• 1 can kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 c. shredded reduce fat cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare brown rice according to package. In the same saucepan as the rice, mix in chopped onions, taco seasoning, and 1/2 cup of water. Let simmer for about a minute.

Next in the saucepan, combine the corn, black beans, cream of mushroom and spices and mix until well blended. In a medium size casserole dish, pour in the Mexican rice and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Lastly, take the casserole dish out of oven and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. Serve with fat free sour cream and more cheddar cheese.

Speaking of viewer challenges, this is going to be an interesting one...

"Long time reader, first time challenger.  I CHALLENGE you to make something Brandon will like that has absolutely nothing cheese-like in it!"

That's going to be a difficult one.  That boy loves his cheese.  And here's cheesy boy now with a review:

Brandon and I are planning to celebrate Cinco de Mayo tonight at a local taco shop. I guess we will have to say Seis de Mayo.   Do you or your family have any traditions for Cinco de Mayo?