Black Bean, Chicken, and Brown Rice Casserole

I literally am going to finish the entire pan of this, by myself, in less than 36 hours. This also makes a fantastic burrito filling, if you throw in some salsa and sour cream! Am still confused why the Picky Pickersons won't eat it, but I should just learn to accept such things . . .

I originally found this on Pinterest, linking to www.sixsistersstuff.com - they in turn had gotten it from Allrecipes, which I looove for all its wonderfully helpful reviews. I made some modifications to the recipe based on those reviews:

Black Bean, Chicken, and Brown Rice Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 1/4 cups chicken stock (chicken or vegetable broth will also work)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 pack chicken tenderloins, cooked and chopped (mine was about .8 lbs)
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt to taste
• ground cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained
• 1 (10 oz) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1-2 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese - depending on how much cheese you like 

Directions:


Mix the rice and chicken stock in a pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer  45 minutes, or until rice is tender.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a large 9x13" casserole dish. Actually, I forgot to grease it, and nothing happened! 


Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, chicken, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt, and ground cayenne pepper (I seasoned liberally, esp. with the cayenne!). Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned and chicken is heated through.


In large bowl, mix the cooked rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes, chiles, and 1/2 the cheese. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.


Cover casserole loosely with foil, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover, and continue baking 10 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. 

**I had meant to drain the tomatoes, but forgot, and am happy that I didn't - it gave a nice kick to the dish!