Pineapple Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

Here's a new favorite!  Quick and easy - especially when hubby will cook the chicken on the grill, and you make the rice in an electric steamer.

Pineapple Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

2-4 lbs BSCB (boneless, skinless chicken breast)

1 16 oz bottle BBQ sauce
1 22 oz can crushed pineapple, gently drained
1 16 oz can black beans (good additional source of protein)
1/2 t madras curry
2 t cinnamon (I may have been a little more generous with the cinnamon, but 2 t is close enough)
2 t dry ground mustard, or 1 T dijon mustard (like Trader Joe's)

3 c rice, cooked according to directions

Cook chicken and steam rice according to directions.  I used my favorite Calrose with a dash of wild rice blend.

While chicken and rice are cooking, combine all other ingredients in a medium pot. Simmer over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes. Let the flavors mingle. This has a fairly high sugar content, so you'll want to stir often enough you don't scorch the bottom.

Serve by making a bed of rice, with chicken on top, and pour a generous scoop of sauce over both.  We enjoyed a green salad on the side to round the whole thing out.  Yay for protein!

Taco Soup

We call this chili in our household.  It's a great addition to a baked potato bar, turns into nachos on day 2, and is super easy to make (you can even freeze it)!

Taco Soup

In a large pot:
Brown 1 lb ground beef with 1 packet Taco Seasoning, drain excess grease

Add following and simmer for 20 minutes or more:
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
2 28oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes (I love Muir Glenn brand)
1 can chili and lime Rotel
1 can cream corn (and sometimes some extra corn from a bag of frozen)
1 can dark kidney beans, drained
1 can white kidney beans (cannellini), drained
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans pinto beans, drained

We like to top this like it's a taco... sour cream, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro.  It's a lot of fun to serve buffet style, letting everyone top their own bowl.  You can even make it vegetarian, or add TVP to stretch your meat.

Because I can keep the ground beef frozen and the cans always on hand, this is a go-to recipe, especially in the winter.  I keep all the cans for a single batch tied up in a grocery sack in my pantry and I toss the empty cans back in the bag as I make the recipe for easy clean up.