Creamy Burrito Skillet

It was one of those nights.  You knows the ones I mean.  We’d gotten back home after Easter a couple days before and had been skating by on leftovers.  I had no dinner plan.  I had offered to volunteer at the Dude’s school.  Spud just wanted me to play with him.  The laundry was overflowing.  And I honestly can’t remember the last time I swept of mopped the floors.  Did I mention I had absolutely no dinner plans?

Oh, and I’d already been to the grocery store at least 3 times, but without a list, so the refrigerator was kinda sorta stocked, but not for any specific meal.

And so, for the second time this week, it was operation clean out the refrigerator (because after last time, I had ¾ a block of cream cheese just waiting to sprout some mold) with a strong reliance on the pantry.

I’d just made pasta, so I knew I wanted to do rice.  We were out of ham, and I didn’t have any beef (well, I had a roast but it was frozen solid), but I did have frozen chicken, so I wanted to make something that wouldn’t care if I started with frozen solid chicken.  I had a random jar of salsa (Mexican!) farmer’s market corn and homemade chicken stock in the freezer, so I was finally in business.

The recipe I (loosely) followed called this One Skillet Mexican Chicken & Rice, but the cream cheese and chicken reminded me strongly of Creamy Chicken Taquitos and the rice got me thinking about burritos.  As I thought about it, it really seemed like a yummy creamy burrito filling!  In fact, Dude & I scooped it up with tortilla chips and ate it dip-style.  Hubs added shredded cheddar and wrapped his in a tortilla, truly turning it in to a burrito.  Spud saw beans and lead a one man revolt.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Recipe Note:

-The chicken & corn can be added frozen!  This will just extend the cooking time by about 10 minutes.

-If using canned corn, add it at the same time as the beans.

Creamy Burrito Skillet

Adapted from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

2 cups chicken broth

¾ cup medium salsa

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup brown rice

2 cups frozen corn

2 tbsp taco seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

6 oz cream cheese                               

Lettuce, avocado, bell peppers, tortilla chips or flour tortillas, for serving

Place the chicken stock, salsa, chicken, rice, corn, taco seasoning, and chili powder in a large skillet over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir the mixture.  Remove chicken and shred or dice, return to the skillet to continue cooking.  Stir in the beans and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes or until the rice is tender.  If the liquid is looking too low, add an additional ¼ - ½ cup of chicken broth (or water) and continue cooking until absorbed.  If using frozen chicken and corn, extend cooking by 10 minutes or until the chicken is done and rice is tender.

Add the cream cheese.  Stir until the cream cheese is completely melted and incorporated into the dish.

Serve immediately with your favorite toppings.  Dude and I enjoyed this with tortilla chips, while Hubs put his in a tortilla with shredded cheddar and ate it burrito style.

Serves 6