On to food posts again!

 Today's meal: One pot Arroz Con Pollo!

 

Chicken thighs are on sale again at Kroger/Food 4 Less so a pack of ten is only about $5. Score! Hoping they're still on sale when we get food money on the first.

Start with my taco seasoning/mexican rub on the chicken:

(Which I lost my notes app when my notes weren't backed up so I just found a taco seasoning recipe that was basically the same and added in smoked paprika with the regular paprika.) 

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1tsp sweet paprika (or hot, whatever you have)

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground oregano (I actually have 'Mexico' oregano from a friend and used that.)

You won't be using all of that batch on just two chicken thighs, if you are making more then yes. It ends up being about a quarter cup of spice mix. Store in an air tight container.

Spread that generously on the chicken thighs, put them in a baggie, dash in 1 tsp of lime juice, and mix them around in the bag. Fridge for about an hour or so, overnight is good too. I also lifted the skin and tossed some between the skin and meat for extra flavor.

I then followed the recipe for One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice from pinterest as best I could. I didn't have all the ingredients and subbed where I could.

I'M OUT OF FRESH GARLIC! AAAAAHHHHH!  I'll be deported for sure. Had to use garlic powder and am almost out of that as well. EEP!

The directions for the recipe call for using a skillet or dutch oven with a lid and put it in the oven. My dutch oven is large and heavy, my big frying pan would not be able to hold everything so I used my dutch oven on the stove.

Rest of the ingredients I used:

2 chicken thighs, skin on with bone

1 cup of uncooked rice

1 (sm) can Rotel* (recipe called for salsa, I used the Rotel and what was left of my home made salsa)

Cilantro, five or six stems with leaves, chopped fine

1/2 Yellow/brown onion diced 

3 clove garlic minced or crushed

4 slices fresh jalapeño* (I took out the core and seeds because it was getting to the stem end omit if you aren't a spicy kind of person)

1/2 bell pepper diced (original called for red pepper all I had was green)

1 packet Sazòn seasoning**

2 cups chicken broth/bullion (all I have are bullion cubes so two of those in two cups of hot/boiling water)

2 tbsp cooking oil of choice. I used canola recipe called for olive..whatever you want

2 tsp lime juice (separate)

Let's get started here.

Heat cooking oil in the pan/dutch oven on med high heat until it shimmers, gently put the chicken in skin side down, cook for 3 or 4 minutes until the skin is crispy. Turn over, lower heat and put the lid on, check after about the same time and remove to a plate if the other side looks dark brown. There should be a lot of oil/grease in the pan as well as some of that 'fond' that professional cooks love to talk about. Basically brown bits from the seasoning on the chicken. It's called 'FLAVOR'.

Add onions and peppers, cooking until onions are translucent then add garlic. It should smell amazing! Cook for about a minute or two then add in the Rotel, stir, then the rice, stir around again, letting everything reheat and bubble. Add in the chicken broth and cilantro and give it another stir to get the chicken well into the mix. (You can use less broth or more rice to get a more fluffy spanish rice consistency.)

Bring the liquid back to a boil and return chicken to the pot. Turn the heat down to a simmer with the lid on and total cooking time is about a half hour. Check at 15 minutes to see how the rice is doing. When it's done, the chicken should be fully cooked, tender and moist add in the other tsp of lime juice and stir around. The rice should still be looking good with whole kernels, mine was a bit overcooked with the kernels split but it was deeelicious!

 

Addendums/alternates:

*You can use a can of regular diced tomatoes, NOT crushed, that's essentially tomato sauce. And then use the jalapeño for heat. The idea is chunks of tomatoes in there because your tomato 'sauce' is coming from either paste, sauce or the Sazòn.

**If you don't have a packet of Sazòn, you can use a 2 oz can of tomato paste or sauce. 

Another delicious meal. I think I'm going to have to start a cookbook called 'Cooking by the Seat of My Pants. Recipes for two, cooking in a tiny kitchen'.

Enjoy!