Mexican Dinner Ideas — The Recipe That Started It All, Week 500

Week 500. I don't usually count weeks, but 500 is a number that demands acknowledgment. Five hundred weeks of writing about my life through food. Five hundred Mondays of chopping onions and photographing receipts and standing at a stove that has changed four times but always holds the same cast iron skillet. Five hundred weeks since a fourteen-year-old girl made pinto beans in a dark kitchen and everything began.

I didn't post about the milestone on the blog. The blog doesn't know about weeks — the blog knows about recipes and receipts and the ongoing saga of ham prices. But I marked it privately, in the journal I keep in the kitchen drawer (the drawer that holds the recipe cards, the Post-it notes, the dried rose petal, Carol's letter). I wrote: "Week 500. I am still cooking. I am still here."

The simplicity of "I am still here" is its own celebration. Because there were weeks when being here was not guaranteed. Week 1 — the dark kitchen, the electricity off. The tornado. The FEMA trailer. The jail visits. The ER at 3 AM. The apartment with the two-foot counter. The weeks when the math didn't work, when the beans were for survival, when showing up at the stove was an act of defiance against a world that was trying to make me disappear. I didn't disappear. I'm still here. Still cooking. Still feeding people. Five hundred weeks in, and the stove is on, and the lights are on, and the food is on the table. Every night. Five hundred weeks of every night.

Dinner tonight: chicken and rice bake. $3.89. The recipe that started the blog. The recipe that started everything. Week 500 deserves the original. The beginning and the continuation, served in the same bowl, on the same table, in a kitchen with counter space that a girl dreamed of for years. $3.89. Five hundred weeks. Still the best thing in the world.

Week 500 could only mean one thing for dinner — the chicken and rice bake that started the blog, the meal that proved a few dollars and a working oven could be enough. It fits right at home among the bold, simple flavors I return to when I need food that feels both grounding and celebratory, the kind of Mexican-inspired weeknight dinner that asks nothing of you except to show up and eat. $3.89. Same as always. Some things should never change.

Mexican Chicken and Rice Bake

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (optional)
• Fresh cilantro and lime wedges for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.
2. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Build the rice base. In the prepared baking dish, combine the uncooked rice, diced onion, garlic, diced tomatoes with their juices, black beans, corn, and chicken broth. Stir until evenly mixed.
4. Add the chicken. Nestle the seasoned chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture, pressing them down slightly so the bottoms are touching the liquid.
5. Cover and bake. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F).
6. Add cheese and finish. Remove foil, sprinkle cheese over the top if using, and return to the oven uncovered for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the edges are lightly golden.
7. Rest and serve. Let the bake rest for 5 minutes before serving. Top with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 385 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 520mg