It was the last day of a break. Jack had been home for three days and I hadn’t gotten anything done. I needed to work. I needed to get new content up on the blog. I needed to photograph a new recipe. I needed to respond to comments. We’d had something going on every day that kept me from working. I was way behind.

“But, Daddy,” he said. “When are you going to be done?”

“Daddy, can you please play with me?” I don’t have time, I thought.

A great choice for a busy weeknight. (Stacey Little / Southern Bite)

And then it hit me. I don’t have time.

All too soon, he won’t be asking me to play. He’ll be going out with his friends.

He won’t be asking me to watch him ride his bike. He’ll be driving to an after-school job.

He won’t be asking me to snuggle. He’ll be too grown for that.

I was right; I don’t have time. I don’t have much time… much time left with him being little. So I blew off work, again. And didn’t regret it a second. We played. We cooked lunch together. We snuggled. We played some more.

It reminded me of times when I was little and my mom would spend the entire day playing Nintendo with me. We would scrounge up change to go buy McDonald’s hamburgers. Those were amazing memories. He needs memories like that.

The truth is, I have the rest of my life to work. But my days with him are painfully numbered. Some days you just have to play. So I did. We did.

I’m so excited to share this simple recipe with y’all today. It is one of my favorites and it honestly couldn’t be much easier. You really just dump it all in a casserole dish, cover it with foil and bake. And the flavor is amazing. Like, seriously.

I can’t wait for you to try it. The flavors of the yellow rice combined with the salsa are just perfect. And since it’s all in one dish, prep is super easy and cleanup is a cinch. I just know y’all will love it.

After the chicken has been fully cooked, top with the Mexican cheese blend and return to the warm oven until the cheese has melted. (Stacey Little / Southern Bite)

Cheesy Salsa Chicken and Rice

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 1/4 lbs.)
• 1 (10 ounce) package yellow rice mix
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Place the chicken breasts in the dish and pour the rice mix around them.
3. Pour the water over the rice.
4. Season the chicken with the garlic powder, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the salsa over the chicken.
6. Tightly wrap the baking dish with foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the chicken juices run clear (about 165 degrees when tested with a meat thermometer).
7. Remove from the oven and remove the foil.
8. Top with the cheese and return to the warm oven just long enough to melt the cheese.

Notes

Actual cook times may vary based on the size of your chicken breasts.

This recipe originally appeared on SouthernBite.com. For more great recipes, visit the website or check out ”The Southern Bite Cookbook.”