Southwest Chicken and Rice

Summer job started Monday. I'm working the front desk at the Oak Lawn Park District ╬ôçö checking people in at the pool, answering phones, filing things that don't need filing but someone decided should be filed. It pays $10.50 an hour, which is not a living wage but is a wage, and I'll take it. The woman who trained me, Denise, has been working there for twenty-two years and knows every family in Oak Lawn by name, which reminds me of Mom, which reminds me that there is a type of woman who holds a community together just by remembering who belongs to it.

I'm cooking dinner for the family three nights a week now ╬ôçö my contribution to room and board, since Dad won't take rent money and Mom says having me home is the rent. Monday I made a big pot of chicken and rice soup, which is not a summer food except that it is if you make it, because food doesn't have a season, it has a purpose, and the purpose of this soup was to use the chicken thighs I got at Aldi for $1.29 a pound before they went bad. Rice, carrots, celery, a bay leaf, salt. Two dollars and change feeds four people for two meals. Dad had seconds and said nothing, which is the review system in this house.

Saw Jess on Wednesday after work. She's still staying at her mom's. She was sitting on the porch again, which I've decided is a good sign ╬ôçö porch means outside, outside means trying. We walked to the 7-Eleven on 95th Street and she got a Slurpee and I got a coffee and we sat on the curb like we were fourteen again, except when we were fourteen the worst thing happening was that Tommy Brennan didn't like Jess back. I'd give anything for that to be the problem now.

She said she has a meeting with a counselor next week. An intake appointment at a clinic in Tinley Park. I said that was great. She said, "Don't make it a thing." I didn't make it a thing. I came home and made it a thing in my head, silently, in the shower, where I prayed for the first time in months ╬ôçö not a real prayer, just a sentence aimed upward: please let this be the time it works.

Babcia Rose called Saturday to tell me she's making chrusciki and I should come get some. You don't say no to Babcia Rose. You don't say no to chrusciki. I drove over and ate four and brought a bag home for Dad. Dziadek Wally was asleep in his chair. Babcia Rose was frying dough at eighty-six like it was nothing. It is not nothing. It is everything.

That Monday pot of soup came together so fast and fed everyone so well that I wanted to write down something closer to an actual recipe — something I could repeat without just winging it the way I did with the bay leaf and the hope. Southwest Chicken and Rice is what I’ve landed on: same cheap chicken thighs from Aldi, same rice-and-vegetable logic, just with a little more spice and structure than my “use it before it goes bad” version. Dad had seconds again. That’s the only review I need.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, for serving
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

Season and brown the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry and season with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook 4–5 minutes, stirring once, until lightly browned. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Sauté the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the same pan and cook 3–4 minutes until softened, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the liquids and rice. Pour in the chicken broth, water, and undrained diced tomatoes with green chiles. Stir in the uncooked rice and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Return chicken and simmer. Nestle the browned chicken pieces back into the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for 18–20 minutes, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is tender.
Stir in beans and corn. Add the black beans and frozen corn. Stir gently to combine, then cover again and cook an additional 4–5 minutes until everything is heated through. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Serve. Divide into bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve immediately straight from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Southwest Chicken and Rice — The Soup That Fed Four for Two Dollars and Change