Fiesta Turkey & Rice Bake

I’m all about ease when it comes to cooking.

Whether it’s using as little ingredients as possible, or cooking with only one pan, or using handy appliances—–I love easy recipes. That’s probably why you see so many casseroles and one-pot dinners on my blog!

I feel like this generation of home cooks thinks the same way as me, too. Easier cooking equals more time to do other things in your life. Easier cooking equals less dishes to do. Easier equals better.

Out of all the “easy” appliances I own, my slow-cooker is probably my favorite. My next favorite? My rice cooker.

Okay, I’ll admit it. The rice cooker isn’t technically mine. It’s Rob’s. I’ll also admit to being completely clueless on how to use it for years. I can’t tell you how many times I had to call him and ask for instructions. It’s really easy to cook with, I just could not remember the ratio of water to rice to save my life.

…it’s 2:1, by the way. Two cups of water to each cup of rice. How could I not remember that?! It’s so simple, yet it eluded me for forever.

Now that I’ve got a handle on my (Rob’s) rice cooker, I use it as much as possible. We’ve gotten ride of white rice in our lives, so instead we’ll use it to cook brown rice. What a difference a rice cooker makes! Perfect and fluffy rice, every time.

You need perfect and fluffy rice for this baked dinner. The original recipe called for turkey breast, but I had ground turkey in the freezer that I wanted to use up. I made a makeshift taco seasoning blend for the ground turkey and then baked everything with my rice. Holy guacamole! How could such a simple recipe yield such delicious results?

Serve this for your next Mexican night. I’m pretty sure your whole family will enjoy it!

Fiesta Turkey & Rice Bake

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A simple weeknight dinner bake with spicy flair.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 TBS. olive oil
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tsp. cumin
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. minced onion
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup rice
• 1 (4 oz) can green chiles, chopped
• 1 (12oz) can Mexicorn, drained
• 1 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup sour cream, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11×7 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook rice according to package instructions, or in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add ground turkey, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, and oregano. Stir, breaking meat up, until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Drain off any juices.
2. Stir in cilantro, mexicorn, enchilada sauce and green chiles into skillet, reserving half of the green chiles for topping, if desired.
3. Pour cooked rice into skillet and stir until everything is well combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Top cooked turkey and rice bake with sour cream and reserved green chiles.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Cook rice according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 350, grease an 11×7″ glass baking dish. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced onion and oregano. Stir and break up meat. Cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Drain off any juices.

Add cilantro, Mexicorn, green chiles (reserving half if wanted for topping) and enchilada sauce to the skillet.

Stir until everything is well combined, and then add rice. Stir it all up again.

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Top baked turkey and rice with sour cream and reserved green chiles.