Cheesy Beans and Rice

Cheesy Beans and Rice LT03, 186, 5 points for 8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided

Directions

Cook rice according to package directions. Transfer to a bowl; add the beans. In a nonstick skillet, saute onion in oil for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, chili powder and salt. Bring to a boil; remove from the heat.

In a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer a third of the rice mixture, cheese and tomato mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining rice mixture and tomato mixture.

Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6 servings.


Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 306 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 47 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 15 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 2-1/2 starch, 2 lean meat, 1 vegetable.

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I made this last night (Feb 26th) for a girl's night with Mexican themed food. This is not a dish that is new to me. I have made it a few times before, and it's usually well received by everyone but my family :)

When I've made it in the past I've always used white rice, but this time I used brown like it calls for in the recipe. It is good either way. The recipe calls for 1 c. of rice, but I cooked 2 cups and used almost all of it. The cheese helps soften the bite of the Ro-tel, and the flavors all blend really well.

The WW points came out to 5 points for 8 servings. I mentally divided the dish into 8 pieces, but one could easily get double that for smaller portions.