Chicken & Black Bean Casserole

Cheese necessary. More cheese optional.

Chicken & Black Bean Casserole

2/3 cup wild rice

1 cup chicken broth*

1 T olive oil

1/3 cup diced onion

2 medium zuchinni, thinly sliced

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional) 

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

1 (15oz) can of black beans, rinsed

1 (4oz) can green chilies

1-2 cups cheddar cheese

*you may need to adjust according to the type of rice you use. I use bullion paste to make broth so I ended up with roughly one cup of broth and a half cup of water to cook the 2/3 cup of rice in. 

** I also had a can of chipotle & sweet corn that I used so I omitted the chilies and cumin since the corn blend had spices in it already. The beauty of recipes is that they're typically "suggestions" and you can make as many changes as you want! 

Mix the rice and broth in a pot and bring to a boil . Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until rice is tender. (Or follow your rice's packaged directions, I only needed to simmer mine for about 15 minutes.)

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13" casserole dish. 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken until cooked through. Add onion, mushrooms and zucchini (I also added bell pepper because why not)and cook until tender. Season with cumin and salt.

In a large bowl, mix cooked rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, chilies and half of the cheese. Transfer to casserole dish. 

Cover casserole loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and add remaining cheese. Continue baking for 10 minutes. 

Done!