I owe this recipe a lot. This recipe is the reason I found this amazing homemade salsa. And well, for that alone, I’m in love with this red chile chicken and rice with black beans.

But as it turns out, it’s really quite awesome on its own. With 2.5 tablespoons of ancho chile powder, I’m sure you can guess that this dish certainly does not lack flavor. And it doesn’t. But while that may seem like a lot of chile powder, it’s not too much, either. Since Mexican flavors are some of our favorites, this is yet another meal to add to our regular rotation.

Topped with the amazing homemade salsa, this is a meal to be reckoned with.

When making this, we had a few challenges with the rice. Mainly, it took longer to cook than Annie states, but that might be because I didn’t stir-fry it enough in the beginning. Make sure not to undercook it at that stage. Also, we found that to help the rice along, we had to add more chicken broth to the pan so that the rice had more liquid. The rice ended up absorbing all of the extra, and in the end, it came out well. I just wanted to make note of that in case any of you guys run into the same issue!

Red Chile Chicken & Rice with Black Beans
(Source: Annie’s Eats)

Ingredients:
– 2 tbsp. canola oil
– 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into halves (4 halves total) — I used approximately 1 lb. of chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
– 2.5 tbsp. ancho chile powder, divided
– 1 medium onion, chopped
– 1 cup long-grain rice
– 4 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
– 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
– 1/4 cup green onions, chopped (or 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro)
– 1/2 – 1 cup salsa, for serving

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken breast halves with salt and sprinkle with half of the chili powder. (If you’ve cut the chicken into pieces like I did, simply sprinkle/rub the salt and chile powder onto the chicken pieces.) Place the chicken in the hot oil and brown on each side, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate, leaving behind as much oil as possible.

2. Add the onion and rice to the pot. Stir for several minutes, until the rice turns from translucent to opaque. Add the garlic and the remaining chili powder to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the chicken broth and salt to taste. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on medium-low heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces (if you didn’t do it before) and add them to the pot, along with the beans. Re-cover the pot and allow to cook 12 minutes longer.

4. Sprinkle the green onions on top of the chicken, beans and rice. Test a grain of rice – it should have no more than a hint of chalkiness at the center. If the rice has the correct texture, replace the cover, remove the pot from the heat and let stand 5-10 minutes. If the rice is not completely cooked yet, cook for 5 minutes longer before covering to let stand.

5. Fluff the mixture with a fork and serve with salsa.

I’ve tried to make my own salsa before. It was a few years ago, and it didn’t go well. I can’t really remember what went wrong, but I think that overall, the recipe I used suffered from a lack of flavor. I was not impressed, and vowed to stick to the store-bought and restaurant varieties.

Last week, I came upon Annie‘s salsa, and read through her post about it. I figured that if she doesn’t even like salsa but still likes this, then it must be good. We were planning to make another one of Annie’s recipes for dinner on Saturday (I’ll be posting about that later), so we decided to make the homemade salsa to go along with it.

We decided to give homemade salsa another chance.

And boy, we were pleased. You’re supposed to let the salsa sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours prior to serving so that the flavors can all meld together. After I was done mixing this all together, it smelled so good that we couldn’t help but sample it right away. We were blown away! This salsa is wonderfully flavorful, what with the garlic, cilantro, and all the other good stuff. Plus, it’s really easy to throw together.

We’ll surely continue to buy salsa in a jar if a recipe calls for it to be mixed in, but for chips and salsa? Not going to happen. I can’t imagine going back to store-bought salsa now. So what I’m saying is this: If you try this for yourself, be prepared for a lifestyle change! You’ll never buy salsa again. :) Also, this makes quite a bit of salsa, and you should be prepared to eat it. We’ve almost kicked the entire batch already, and will be making more tomorrow!

Annie’s Homemade Salsa
(Source: Annie’s Eats)

Ingredients:
– 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped
– 4 cloves garlic, halved
– 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes
– 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes (drained or not, depending on how much liquid you want in your salsa)
– 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
– 1 tbsp. cumin
– 1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
– 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
– juice of one lime

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add all other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in very brief pulses until the vegetables have reached the size you desire (it does not take many pulses so don’t overdo it).

3. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.