AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I’m SOOOO freaking excited!!!!! We are going on a family vacation to Disney World and Universal Studios!!!!! I haven’t been there in over 30 years and I can’t WAIT to go again.
This trip is extra special because we are surprising my young niece and nephew 😀 😀 😀 I can’t wait to see their faces as we pull into the park. When my sister, Michelle, took the kids a year (or two) ago, I told her I MUST go with next time. We’ve been planning this trip since November of last year so I’m ecstatic it’s finally here.
Seriously, not spoiling the surprise for the kids has been the hardest part. I’ve been to a couple family functions recently, where the booze was flowing heavily, and I almost blurted it out in my drunken stupor. It’s going to be a HUGE relief to finally tell them!!!
So as excited as I am to hit Disney, Ugh, I’m miserable right now. I am reminiscing about this wonderful recipe and I don’t have any leftovers on hand. I need to fix that….stat.
What is not to love about a mouthwatering recipe that’s easy to make. Yes, the ingredient list is long, but once you have your ingredients measured out and chopped up, this recipe comes together quickly. And it feeds a lot of people…..or you for days…….or hours……..depending on how you roll.
I have made this dish for numerous friends and they RAVE about it! Seriously, if you want to impress a crowd of hungry people, this recipe will deliver!
The ingredient list is long…..but it’s SOOOOO easy to put together. Just chop your veggies, measure out your spices, throw that shit in a dutch oven, heat it up, stir it around, pop it in the oven, and bake!
^OMG..does anyone else want to yank that stray thread off the burlap? My OCD is going nuts right now!!!!!
Arroz Con Pollo (Chicken with Rice)
Ingredients
- Package of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (5-6 count), lightly salt and pepper them on both sides
- ½ cup water or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced.
- 1 pablano pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ¼ tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon s smoked paprika (normal paprika OK too)
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt (start with one tablespoon at a time and taste to ensure you do not over salt)
- ¼ cup sliced green olives
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 cups white long grain rice
- 4 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Be sure to have your oven rack on the lowest rack setting so you can easily fit your pot/dutch oven.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs and brown them on both sides. Note, you are not trying to cook them through, you are just making sure they have a nice brown color on both sides. Once the thighs are browned on both sides, turn OFF the heat. Add ½ cup water (or vegetable stock) and let the chicken sit there. The heat in the pan will boil the water which will help deglaze your pan which equals more flavor! Set aside.
- In a dutch oven or oven save large pot, heat another tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and saute until they translucent which should take approx 5-8 minutes.
- Now add the garlic, pablano pepper, red pepper, and give the ingredients a stir.
- Now add the cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, liquid smoke, sugar, green olives, capers, and salt. Give the ingredients in the pot a stir until everything is well coated with the spices.
- Add the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and stir.
- Add the white rice and stir until everything in the pot is well combined and coated with the tomato paste and spices.
- Now add the 4 cups of vegetable broth. After you add the broth, put the chicken thighs into the pot on top of the rice. Nestle them down so they are almost completely submerged in the liquid. Pour the water from the pan you used to brown the chicken into the dutch oven too.
- Now toss in your frozen peas.
- Turn the heat up to high and bring the broth to a simmer. Now cover, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take the dutch oven out of the oven, and check the rice. All the water should be absorbed and you should be able to easy separate the rice with the twines of a fork.
- The ingredients in the dutch oven will be HOT. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before you dig in.
- Serve in a bowl, top with cilantro, and enjoy!