Chicken With Black Beans and Rice

I was looking for an easy-ish dish to make on Friday night and saw this recipe on the Yahoo home page, courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens.  I adapted it a bit from the original recipe, using chopped fresh onion and green pepper.  The results came out pretty good, though I felt like something was missing.  Next time I'll probably use a bit more cayenne pepper and chili powder and maybe add a jalapeno.

Ingredients (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens):

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs chicken pieces (I used thighs)
2 Tablespoons oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup frozen corn
2/3 cup long grain white rice
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

serves 4-6

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  In a large ziploc bag, combine flour, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt, and pepper.  Add chicken and shake to coat.

2.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add chicken and brown on all sides over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally.  Remove from skillet and set aside.

3.  Heat a little more oil in the skillet.  Add onion and green pepper. Saute a couple minutes until the onion is translucent. 

4.  Add beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, remaining chili powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic to the skillet.  Bring to boiling.  Transfer to a 3 quart casserole or 13x9x2 dish.  Arrange chicken on top.  You could probably just cook this all in an oven safe skillet with a cover, as well.

5.  Cook covered for 45-50 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.

6.  Serve with sliced avocado, cilantro, sour cream...whatever your heart desires!

This made good leftovers the next day, too, and would probably be delicious all wrapped up in a warm tortilla!