Kitchen Adventures || Fiesta Chicken Foil Pouches & Heidi Childers Jones (in the role of Doula)

Hey friends! It’s been a minute! Life has been a bit on the busy side lately and I think will continue to be so through the end of the year at least! My meal prep game is still going strong, but I’ve definitely been searching out more ways to make things easier. Y’all know I’m the queen of “dump recipes” where I can just put everything together in one device to cook. This week’s recipe feels like the true definition of a “dump” dinner haha! It may not look pretty, but it was EASY, tasty, and got the job done!

Before we get there, I want to introduce this week’s feature. Now, if you follow CFA in any of our adventures, you are already familiar with this spectacular human being. You may not know, however, that she is among many things, a doula! In fact, she is OUR doula! (Oh yes, we are pregnant! Well… I am… but Tim helped). We could not be more elated to have such a special person helping to guide us through growing our first little human. It truly is such an honor to have Heidi on our birth team. She has already made us feel so informed and empowered and we’re only 21 weeks in! We feel confident that her knowledge and energy will help us guide our little guy confidently and powerfully into the world.

If you’re looking to become pregnant or ARE pregnant, I really can’t recommend more that you get a doula to help you in the journey. Heidi is the perfect fit for our family, but if you’re not in the area or not into the virtual thing, you can still reach out to her and she can likely connect you to someone in her incredible birth network. 

Just a little flash of all the things Heidi does: Coach/Private Trainer, Massage Therapist, Prenatal/Postpartum BirthFit Coach, Clean Beauty & Skincare Rep, Mother, etc, etc, etc… She really does it all, y’all. If you would like to learn more about her, check out her WEBSITE which also has links to her social. There’s a little something for everyone and if she personally doesn’t do what you’re looking for, she’s also just an excellent resource and wealth of knowledge. 

 

Ok, so let’s get cooking…

FIESTA CHICKEN FOIL POUCHES

4 Large Chicken Breasts – pound with a meat tenderizer until about an inch thick
1.5 cups uncooked quick brown rice (it MUST be quick rice – I used Minute Instant Brown Rice)
1.5 cups water or broth (for rice)
1/2 cup salsa – I used roasted red salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheese – I used a Mexican blend
1 medium onion (I used yellow) – sliced
2 Bell peppers – seeds removed & sliced (any color)
1 poblano pepper – seeds removed & sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic – minced
1 can black beans – drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 package taco seasoning
Olive oil
Lime juice to finish
*Optional – greek yogurt or sour cream to top

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400. While the oven preheats, mix the rice, water or broth, and about half of the taco seasoning in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

Line a baking sheet (I had to use two) with foil and prepare four pieces of foil large enough to accommodate a chicken breast and other ingredients folded into a pouch.

After the rice has soaked, divide it and the remaining liquid between the 4 pieces of foil. Lay a chicken breast on top and surround with peppers, onions, beans, corn and garlic.

Sprinkle the remaining taco seasoning evenly on the four chicken breasts. Top with a couple of tablespoons of salsa each. Drizzle each with a little bit of olive oil and top with cheese.

Create pouches around the ingredients and seal on all sides. They don’t have to look pretty! Baking time will vary from 35 minute to an hour based on how large your chicken breasts are. Mine took about 45 minutes. You can open a pouch and check to see if the chicken is done. The internal temp should be at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Optional – open each pouch and finish off with a few minutes under the broiler to make the cheese nice and melty.

Top with lime juice, sour cream, cilantro, etc… and enjoy!