I have a confession to make...

I love to cook. Although, recently I asked my husband what he would like me to make and as usual, his response was "doesn't matter." I am lucky he is so easy to please, but I couldn't stop at that. "What do you want me to make? What's your favorite thing I make?" I inquire. "Everything you make is good, you just don't make a lot of things more than once... so I don't know what my favorite is because you are always trying something new" was his response. That's acceptable, and true I thought.

Although there are recipes that I know ARE favorites around our house, and I do make those, I am CONSTANTLY looking for new recipes. It's almost an obsession. I have cookbooks, recipe boxes, favorite websites that I turn to, all in hopes of adding a new dish to my array of family favorites.

Now, I feel that I am a decent cook. I can make just about anything, or at least give it a good try. The majority of the time I succeed. My family is grateful. Occasionally, I am not happy with my results, and this is my confession. I have a problem... a problem with slow cooking. Not any slow cooking mind you. I can whip up a heck of a pulled pork sandwich, saucy pork chops and white lighting chili... but my dilemma lies with chicken. Any cut of chicken that is not a whole chicken, I have problems with in a crock pot. I still try! I think I am the epitome of try, try again with the whole slow cooked chicken thing.

This week, I tried Caribbean Chicken with Mango salsa. Sounds good, right? I thought so. My kids loved it. My husband said it tasted good, and it did. The flavors were great, but the chicken, a little dry. That's my problem. dry = not that good. Slow cooking is supposed to = moist and tender. Although the kids were happy ant ate a good amount, I knew I was going to have leftovers (which we do love at my house) but dry on the first day means unpalatable on the second. I hate wasting food, so I'm not going to just throw it out... so what challenge am I faced with? Recreating this chicken into a delicious and NEW dish. The following was my solution, which turned out GREAT! I loved it, Devin loved it and the true test, the kids... I think after Anson's 4th serving I was convinced this was a keeper.

Southwestern Chicken & Rice Bake
2 C cooked rice (leftover from the previous night)
1 1/2 C cooked diced chicken (leftover from the previous night - I chopped this up more than a dice)
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can mexican corn (which I never have, so I used reg. sweet corn)
1 can tomatoes
1 T fresh cilantro
1 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1 T chili powder (which I didn't have so I used a couple dashes of cayenne)
1/4 - 1/2 t ground red or chipotle pepper (I used red pepper flakes)
4 T butter
4 T flour
1 C milk
1/2 C chicken broth
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t salt
1/2 - 1 C cheddar or monterey jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine rice, chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder and ground red pepper in a bowl.
2. Make sauce by melting butter in pan over med heat. Add flour and combine well. Add salt & pepper, then add milk and broth whisking well until combined and smooth. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Stir into rice mixture.
3. Pour into 2 qt casserole dish topping with shredded cheese. Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
4. Serve with a dallop of sour cream, chopped tomatoes, avocados, green onions, etc.
SERVES 6