Pace Chicken and Rice

I found this recipe for Chicken and Rice on the Pace Picante website. I made the mistake of using short grain brown rice instead of long grain white rice. The short grain brown rice takes a much longer time for it to cook. What should have been a quick no fuss meal ended up in a quick rethink of dinner.

I whipped up some veggies instead of the corn and rice. While we were eating I dumped everything but the cooked chicken in a covered pot and let it boil for another 30 minutes so it would be ready to eat when it came to leftovers.

Once the rice was cooked completely the dish was quite good. I think I like the short grain brown rice almost as much as the white jasmine rice. The short grain rice didn't have the wonderful nutty fragrance, but it was every bit as delicious as the Jasmine.

Boiling the rice in the salsa imparted great flavor into the rice as well. Some of the salsa also started to caramelize in the bottom of the pan while the rice was cooking. This added just a hint of sweetness that I really enjoyed.

The next time I make this I'm going to try making this recipe in the crockpot with frozen chicken. I figure it should take about 6 hours on low. Then maybe it really will be a no fuss dinner.

Pace's Chicken and Rice
1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Picante Sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Paprika
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:

Stir picante sauce, water, corn and rice in an 11x7x2" baking dish. Top with the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with the paprika. Cover the baking dish. Bake at 375°F. for 45 min til chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Sprinkle with the cheese. If you don't have Cheddar cheese on hand, you can substitute an equal amount of shredded Monterey Jack or a Mexican cheese blend.