I love to cook. Plain and simple. I love spicy food. My family on the other hand not so much. So I love when I can find a recipe that lets me play with the heat and make everyone happy all in one meal. I figured why not share with all my fellow bloggers a quick and easy one pot meal!
Arroz con Pollo
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into chunks
2 large bell peppers (any color or a combo of colors), sliced
1 medium onion, diced (more if you like more onion)
3 garlic cloves minced (more or less depending on your taste)
1 jalapeño pepper, diced (you can add more jalapeños or any variety/amount of Chile peppers depending on your taste preference)**
2 scallions, diced
2 cups of long grain rice
2 cups of chicken broth (or 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup of white wine..play with it and see what you like best)
1 14 1/2 ounce can of whole tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of diced olives
salt
pepper
1 lemon, juiced
favorite hot sauce
Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Let sit and prepare rest of ingredients.***
Heat oil in a large pan. Add chicken and cook until lightly brown over medium heat, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from pan.
Add the bell peppers, jalapeño, scallions, garlics, onions to the pan. Add a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and cook for 1 more minute, being careful not to burn it. Add the broth, water, and tomatoes with liquid; break tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Return chicken to pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes (remove from heat for last 5 minutes). Stir in olives and serve with your favorite hot sauce (mine is THT Cry Baby with this recipe, but that is my opinion).
**Now for the chilies. If I was not feeding my wussy family I would play with a variety of Chile peppers. Any type of Chile pepper will work well here from jalapeños to habaneros. Whatever you can find fresh! I would play with flavors and roast some of the Chile peppers, take some seeds out, leave some seeds in; you get my point. You can even add pickled or jarred Chile peppers to bring a new level of flavor to this dish. Even a combo of fresh and canned would be fantastic!
***As for the chicken try marinating it in your favorite spicy marinade or even in your favorite hot sauce. Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and then add to a zip lock storage bag. Pour marinade over chicken pieces and seal bag. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes. A few hours would be even better! Then follow recipe above. You will not be disappointed!