Chili Spiked Rice and Bean Salad with Chicken

I am trying to find as many yummy bean recipes as I possibly can. This one looked like it would be great for a hot summer day.

Chili Spiked Rice and Bean Salad with Chicken

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked boil in bag rice ( I just used normal brown rice, took longer, but is better)

3 tbls chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbls cider vinegar

2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbls chili powder

1/2 Tsp salt

1/2 Tsp ground cumin

2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup seeded and chopped green bell pepper (did not use)

2 large scallions chopped (did not use)

Directions:

1) Combine rice, parsley, vinegar, oil, chili pepper,salt, and cumin into large bowl.

2) Stir in Chicken, bell peppers, beans, and scallions, toss to combine.

This meal was a huge learning experience for me. Our family does not particularly care for spicy food, so I decided to cut back on the chili powder a tad. Well, after tasting it, I realized that the chili powder counteracted the vinegar, thus in using less chili powder the vinegar was overwhelming. I also am starting to realize that you can not simply omit ingredients you do not like. I am sure the bell pepper and onion would have soaked up some of the sauce/flavor, and also would have helped with the vinegar overload. In conclusion I have decided that the next time I make it, we will use WAY less vinegar. It was still quite good, and was indeed perfect for a hot summer day.

Rating:

I could tell I would really like it if cut back on vinegar

Phillip felt the same, he said it was so far his favorite

Hunter really liked it (wow!!!)