Arroz Con Pollo

I'm excited to say this is a completely new recipe to me.

Since I had the day off I decided to start this early as I also had some cleaning to do in preparation for company.

You can find the recipe here.

Of course I changed a couple, um, several things.

I set it to serve 8 instead of 12.  I used only 2 lbs of chicken breasts instead of 6 lbs of whole chickens.

After I browned the chicken in the dutch oven I used about 1/4 cup Sherry to deglaze the pan.

I used half the butter and oil it called for.

I used two red bell peppers instead of one green and one red as I don't like the bitter taste of green peppers.  Use whatever you like.

Finally, I used about 4 cloves of fresh, minced garlic instead of two.  As if I'd only use 2 cloves!  Geesh!

So the following is my version.


Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 celery ribs, finely diced

2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 onions, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves fresh, minced garlic

1 can(14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

3 cups long-grain and wild rice, DRY

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup sherry

Parsley

Salt & Pepper


Instructions

I did all my prep work first.  There's a lot of vegetable chopping going on in this recipe.

So, here's your step one- set the mood for your ultimate cooking pleasure.

I did this by lighting my Gardenia candle, putting on good music and my silly apron that says "Imagine Whirled Peas".

Once I get going I sing, sashay, chop, and measure as I flit around my kitchen. I highly recommend this.  :)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter and oil in a Dutch oven. Working in batches, brown chicken breasts on both sides.  This took me 2-4 min on each side on medium high heat.  

A quick word about using the Dutch oven- once you've brought something to heat you can usually reduce it and use a lower heat than you would with a regular skillet as it retains heat quite nicely.

After you've finished browning the chicken set it aside on a plate and then add the sherry to deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits of flavor off the bottom.

Add all your veggies and cook until softened around 7 minutes.

Add in the rice, broth, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp salt.

Bring to a boil and then add the chicken to the pot, cover it and transfer it to the oven.

Cook in the oven for 40 minutes or until rice is done.  Garnish with parsley.

I set this recipe to serve 8.  After putting it into the recipe builder with my changes it comes to 10 points per serving.  

I thought this tasted wonderful!  I really loved the different textures and colors.

Even though it's set to serve on a platter I used this large soup bowl mainly because it's just so darn pretty.  My mom got this for me.  It was made by a local artisan and it's covered in my favorite colors, purple and blue.

That's another recommendation I'd have for you- make sure you have a nice presentation, not just for your company but for yourself.  Make your healthy food more visually appealing and you won't feel like you're missing out on anything.  In fact, I think you'd be surprised just how much you would start to look forward to your beautiful, home-cooked meals.

It's the alchemy of cuisine.  When you have the time, dinning should be an experience.

And after eating your food you should feel nourished.  Add in conversation with people you care about and it's something altogether different.

It's a great way to move more fully into self-love and a great way to show love to the special people in your life.


The only thing I'd change next time is that I would add pre-cooked mushrooms.  I just love mushrooms, they're zero points and they'd be just lovely in this.

I hope you enjoy this one-pot wonder.

Happy Cooking!!!