A rotisserie chicken, rice, beans, instant pot, thermos, freezer: GO

September 25, 2023 7:28 AM

I would like recipes/ideas for thermos-friendly (i.e. somewhat wet...figure about as wet as chili) meals I can make with a rotisserie chicken, rice, and beans or lentils. This would for lunches for my 6 year old who licks the thermos clean anytime there's any combo of rice and beans in there. I would make a batch, and freeze it in single servings. Bonus for instant-pot friendly and calorie-dense. Oh, and vegetables are good too, I guess.

We already have in the freezer chili, congri, and lentil soup from grandma (made with milk and I don't know what else?). Oh, and mac and cheese, but that's not a recipe you're likely to suggest for this.

He's not a picky eater at all, so you don't have to restrict yourself to things traditionally viewed as kid-friendly.

posted by If only I had a penguin... to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

I've made this recipe for years. I have the cookbook referenced, and it was one of the first things I learned to make.

https://www.food.com/recipe/asopao-de-pollo-caribbean-chicken-and-rice-373711


Now, I use boneless chicken thighs, and hot Italian sausage. I skip the olives and capers. I don't blend the tomatoes either. And I use plain Uncle Ben's rice for the most part. I've made it with leftover turkey and ham. I'll add peppers if have them, or not.

The last step in the recipe "Serve the chicken on top of the rice, pour the sauce over and sprinkle with parmesan" is odd. There's no sauce. It's all absorbed by the rice.

If I was changing it up for beans/rotisserie chicken, I'd add a can of black beans after the rice was cooked, and stir in the chicken at that point too.

My kids love it and have since they were little.
posted by Ftsqg at 7:38 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would avoid chicken in a thermos unless you're really really confident that it won't get eaten after it's sat in bacteria danger zone all day.

What I do with rice and beans, is cook rice in a tin or two of tomatoes (plus water as necessary), then add beans and whatever spices you like. Someone did once ask me "how do you get rice into the tin of tomatoes?!", no, you put the tomatoes from the tin in the dry rice and then add water so it's enough to cook! I do this in the instant pot with brown rice.
posted by quacks like a duck at 7:39 AM on September 25, 2023

My now seven year old won't even touch chicken, but she does actually like the lentil curry recipe I picked up from this charming young woman. (So does the rest of the family.)

For bonus points, she has a cookbook that she says includes an Instant Pot version of this recipe.
posted by Naberius at 8:16 AM on September 25, 2023 [3 favorites]

I love this recipe for rajma/red kidney bean curry from Smitten Kitchen. You could easily add some rotisserie chicken if you wanted. No instant pot but you use canned beans (I don’t drain the liquid fyi) so it’s fast.
posted by MadamM at 8:27 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

This is my base lentil recipe, it's endlessly riffable. The recipe doesn't have rice in it, I always add it though. The sausagey flavor is part of what makes it for me, but absolutely you could use chicken and enough fennel/aniseseed to get that Italian Sausage ping.

Spanish chickpea and rice soup - again, riffable. I sometimes swap in a nice white bean for chickpeas. There's no chicken in this, but absolutely chop some up and add.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:27 AM on September 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

I would do a burrito bowl-type thing. Cook some rice. Cook chicken in salsa (either in the IP or the oven) and half a packet of Goya Sazon with frozen onions and bell peppers (can sauté the latter if you don't mind another dirty dish). Mix everything up with black beans (or whatever beans he likes), pico de gallo, and shredded cheese. You can add more veggies if you want but this is a nice solid meal.
posted by lunasol at 4:24 PM on September 25, 2023