Mexican Chicken Pasta Bake

I am not a picky eater whatsoever so when I told Jon that I would cook him dinner tonight I had to keep in mind some of the things he will not eat - onions, chunks of tomatoes, peppers… I really wanted to make Mexican and how can you make a good Mexican dish without any of those things?

I figured it to be impossible. But it wasn't.

I did some recipe searching but everything Mexican contained at least one of the things he doesn't like so I had to make some adjustments. (He really isn't that picky but I feel like everyone is picky compared to me!)

Here's what I came up with -

It was definitely delicious!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 box (16 oz) pasta - (I used half bowtie macaroni)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can (16 oz) black beans - rinsed and drained

1 can (16 oz) refried beans

1 can (15.25 oz) sweet corn, drained

6 jalapeño slices or 1/2 jalapeño - (I used precut from a jar)

1 ounce or 3/4 package of taco seasoning *See recipe below to make your own*

1/2 cup salsa

1 1/2 cup Mexican shredded cheese

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350'

2. Cook pasta as directed on packaging. Drain and pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

3. Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat until fully cooked. Add in beans, corn, jalapeños, taco seasoning, salsa, half the cheese, and some water to prevent from drying out. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Pour the chicken mixture on top of the pasta. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

6. Enjoy!

*makes 6 large servings

I thought I had taco seasoning on hand but apparently I didn't! Here's the spice combination I used to create my own - it tasted better than store bought!

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite Mexican dish?