Mexican Chicken and Rice
This mexican chicken and rice dish is always a favourite for our tamariki with plates licked clean! It’s packed full of essential nutrients and flavour, a great way to help your tamariki explore bold flavours.
Why kids love Mexican Chicken and Rice
Toddlers have little control of their world. Often we see anxious toddlers trying to make sense of their day. Routines help infants and toddlers feel safe and secure in their environment. Rituals & routines can be particularly powerful for building relationships and strengthening the bond between child and kaiako, when we follow a child’s lead we often stumble upon routines and rituals we didn’t anticipate.
Why Mexican Chicken and Rice is nutritious
Early childhood routines can be meal times, bottle feeding, nappy changing or bedtime, each offers an opportunity to become a ritual. We’re all familiar with “big” rituals or ceremonies of birthdays & marriages, consider your own daily, weekly or monthly routines that could become rituals if we “took the time” thought positively and became more grateful those things have become the rhythm of our lives. These routines, when we take time, become rituals as we become mindful and conscious of them. Think about the differences between routines & rituals. For routines you think about words such as predictable, secure, necessary, familiar, rosters, timeframes, checklists and structures. I believe routines are important to a point, but I believe we get so fixated on “ticking a box” then what we have to offer our tamariki becomes so much less important and special. We end up giving them less care, attention, creativity and, when we give that, that’s what we’re teaching. Meanwhile, when I think of as a ritual it’s inviting, special, sacred, community, symbolic, caring and creative. These words call on our full attention to be purposeful, aware and intentional.
Rituals hold such a sense of magic, that’s why here at Future Focus we celebrate them regularly across all centres. Participation and collaboration in these moments are an important part of our tamariki’s learning experiences – enhancing their sense of identity and belonging. Te Whāriki, recognises the importance of these things and guides us in our daily planning.
Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 500g chicken breast or thigh, cut into cubes
- 1 packet Taco seasoning (you can make this yourself using paprika, cumin, small amount of chilli powder, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder)
- 1/2 cup of chopped broccoli (broccoli rice is a good alternative to save time)
- 1 jar plain pasta sauce (chunky or smooth)
- 1/2 tin of lentils
- 1/2 tin of kidney beans
- 1/2 tin black beans
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
- Serve with a cooked long grain rice of your choice, sour cream and grated cheese.
Method
- Coat diced chicken in taco mix and set aside.
- Saute onion for 2 mins and add minced garlic, fry off for a further minute.
- Add coated diced chicken to pan and cook until the chicken starts to brown.
- Add broccoli, corn, lentils, kidney & black beans and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Add pasta sauce and vegetable stock and turn the heat down to let simmer for 10 mins to ensure all the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with rice and your favourite sides such as baked tortillas, guacamole, sour cream and cheese!