Chipotle Chicken with Pico De Gallo Rice

A spicy twist on a classic Mexican dish you can server year round

© Tabatha Juestel

Feb 7, 2009

Pico De Gallo is a classic Mexican side dish. Here, it has been combined with brown rice to make a complete meal. The Chipotle Chicken has been added to pack a protein punch with a kick of heat that set your taste buds on fire. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 can Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
• 2 cups uncooked Brown Rice
• 5 or 6 Tomatoes
• 1 bunch Cilantro
• 1 Onion
• 1 can of Corn
• 2 cans of Black Beans
• 1 Onion (optional)

Instructions:

1. Begin cooking brown rice as per package instructions.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a bowl, puree chipotle peppers.
4. Add chicken breast to pureed chipotle peppers. Fully coat each piece.
5. Place chicken breasts in an oven safe dish. Top chicken with any remaining chipotle pepper puree.
6. Cook chicken breast in oven until fully cooked. (Chicken should have an internal temperature of 170 degrees). Approximately 45 minutes.
7. Rinse and drain black beans, set aside.
8. Drain corn, set aside.
9. Rinse and pat cilantro until dry with towel.
10. Chop tomatoes, cilantro and onion into bite size pieces.
11. In a bowl toss black beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro and onion.
12. Once brown rice is finished and cooled, toss with black bean, corn, tomatoe, cilantro and onion mixture.
13. Top one cup of Pico De Gallo Rice mixture with 3 ounces of Chipotle Chicken

Serves 8

Cost Per Serving: $1.71

Calories: 350, Protein: 30, Carbohydrates: 52, Fiber: 7, Fat: 2.25, Saturated Fat: .5, Sodium: 451

Tips to keeping this dish inexpensive:

• If you don't have enough chicken breast for the entire family try adding more beans and brown rice. You'll cut the cost of the chicken without sacrificing protein.
• Does your grocer offer grains in bins? This is a great way to cut costs of just about anything - beans, rice, pasta, nuts - even spices. This could easily trim the expense of rice in half.
• Purchase the chicken you can afford. Chicken that requires more preparation for the user will be less expensive. Cut out the bones and take off the fat yourself for extra savings. Just remember to defat the chicken prior to cooking. (Keep in mind that dark meat has more fat than white meat.)
• Go Green! When drying the cilantro, trade those paper towels in for a thin tea towel. Good for your wallet; great for the environment.

Additional tips for this dish:

• Watching your carbs? Use half the rice. This will save you approximately 54 calories and 11 carbs.
• To add more coolness to this spicy hot dish, try adding a slice of avocado. Not only will you be adding heart healthy omega fatty acids, you will also add a sizable dose of antioxidants such as Vitamin A. (Added benefit: Adding fat to recipes that contain tomatoes may increase the absorption of lycopene from the tomatoes.)
• Vegetarians can easily cut out the meat all together by swapping the chicken with your favorite firm tofu.

Chipotle Chicken with Pico De Gallo Rice

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