Luke Bryan’s favorite casserole dish?  You may be asking yourself, “How does she even know what that is?”.  Well, recently a wonderful opportunity just landed in my lap!  One of my favorite products, Red Gold Tomatoes, contacted me and asked if I would help them out in promoting Luke’s upcoming Farm Tour stop in Greenback, Tennessee.  My job? Cook his favorite casserole using Red Gold tomatoes.  Sounds easy enough, right?  There must be a catch and yes, there was!  I had to do it on 2 live television appearances.  Cooking easy…doing it live on TV? Not so much..ha, ha!  If you want to see my live television appearances, I will be appearing on WVLT Channel 8 on Tuesday morning, September 29th at 6:15 am and then again on Fox 43 Morning Show at 8:15 on Wednesday morning, September 30.  I will tell you more about that experience in a later blog but for now, I want to share a little bit more about Luke’s 7th Annual Farm Tour.

The Farm Tour, now in its seventh year, brings attendees to local farms, vineyards, and other local outdoor venues to enjoy music, connect with local family farms, and ultimately help support the future of farming – a portion of ticket proceeds help provide local college scholarships to the newest generation of farming families. Red Gold tomatoes knows the importance the role local farms play in communities across the country and for over 4 generations, have been working closely with their tomato growers to ensure that every family farm will be sustainably growing crops for years to come.  So, the Farm Tour and Red Gold Tomatoes is the perfect partnership.  Luke will be near Knoxville at Maple Lane Farms on Friday, October 2nd. For tickets, visit http://www.lukebryan.com/farmtourtickets.  (I will see you backstage!)  Now, let’s get to that recipe!

What I discovered in making this dish is that not only is it very tasty, but it is so easy and can be made ahead!  I now understand why it is one of Luke’s favorites!

Chicken, Rice, and Tomato Bake

Ingredients

1 – 10 oz package yellow rice mix
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups cooked cubed chicken***
1 – 15 oz can of black beans, drained
1 – 10 oz can diced Red Gold Tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute’ onion, green pepper and carrot in hot oil in medium skillet over medium heat 10 minutes. Combine hot cooked rice, onion mixture, chicken, beans, diced tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups cheese in large bowl.

Spoon into lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Bottom Line:  This is a delicious recipe that includes many ingredients you already have in your kitchen and is one that the whole family will enjoy.  You can also switch it up a bit.  For example, I love things a bit on the spicier side so substituting jalapeno for the green pepper and adding a little hot sauce can push it up a notch on the heat chart!  For leftovers, you can always use it as a filling in burritos or stuffed peppers and have two different dinners with one easy dish!  Give it a try in your kitchen!  I am Chef Frankie…Always in the kitchen, having fun, and cooking with wild abandonment!

***Easy tip on the chopped chicken***

You can always purchase store bought chopped chicken but for best results just put rub two chicken breasts with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and onion powder and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Moist, juicy chicken perfect for this recipe and any others that call for chopped, cooked chicken!