Mexican Grilled Chicken with Spicy Black Beans & Rice

This past week, the thermometer decided to test the "above 90 degrees" thing, which meant by Saturday I was in no mood to heat up the kitchen in order to provide dinner.

Thankfully, we got our grill working.

This recipe was so easy, I'm a little surprised I hadn't figured it out before this.

Mexican Grilled Chicken with Spicy Black Beans & Rice

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken halves
• 1/2 can black beans
• 1/2 can Ro-Tel tomatoes & green chilies
• 1 1/2 cup cooked rice (I prefer jasmine rice)
• 1 recipe Mexican Chicken Rub

Method

To start, mix the spices together for the chicken rub: 2 tablespoons chili powder, a tablespoon each sugar, paprika, and salt, 1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder (I had to do two teaspoons of garlic powder because I was out of onion powder), and 1/2 teaspoon each cayenne and cumin.

Trim any excess fat and cartilage from the chicken, place in a gallon sized zip top bag, and flatted to about a 1/2 inch thickness.  Then rub both sides evenly with the spice mix. You'll have lots leftover.

Put the chicken on the grill for about 8-10 minutes on each side. Chicken on the grill is tricky, and I like to err on the side of caution. Nothing's a bigger bummer than pulling chicken off the grill, cutting into it, and finding it half raw in the middle. But grilling is also not my strongest cooking method.

While the chicken is cooking, combine the black beans, Ro-Tel and rice in a small saucepan. You can add about a tablespoon of lemon juice if you'd like. Just mix it up and let it heat for about 10 minutes or so.

Slice the chicken into thin strips.

To serve, arrange the chicken slices on a bed of rice and beans. A light sprinkling of cilantro would be a nice addition, but I was fresh out.

The hubs declared that, if he was served this in a restaurant, he would be more than completely satisfied. It rated "Highly Edible" on his scale of food deliciousness.