Arroz con Pollo

I saw this recipe a couple of months ago on Debbie's blog, and I bookmarked it immediately. I've always wanted to make arroz con pollo at home, but I guess I always thought it was a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. But it really wasn't. This meal came together relatively quickly and was absolutely delicious.

The recipe calls for the thighs to be seared in the bacon drippings so the skin gets crispy, but then they go back in the rice and broth mixture to cook through, and by the time the rice was finished the skin had lost a lot of its crispiness. Next time, I'll either use boneless skinless chicken thighs, or I'll cook the bone-in skin-on thighs completely through, separately from the rice. But that was really the only issue I had with this meal. I omitted the peas because I didn't have them on hand, and I also left out the saffron because honestly, it's not an ingredient I would ever use again. I also added some chopped Spanish-style olives to the rice mixture for the last few minutes of cooking. Joe and I both really enjoyed this dinner, and it will definitely be a repeat in our house. Thanks for the recipe, Debbie!

Arroz con Pollo
source: adapted from mocha me

4 slices bacon

4 chicken thighs with skin and bones

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika to taste
Dried oregano to taste

Garlic powder to taste

Cumin to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

2 bell peppers, diced (I used one red and one green)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 pinch saffron (omitted)

1 cup rice

3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (divided)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed (omitted)
1/2 cup Spanish-style pimiento-stuffed olives, roughly chopped

1. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven. Once the bacon is cooked, drain on a paper towel and then crumble. Set aside.

2. Season the chicken thighs with a bit of each seasoning to taste. Cook the chicken thighs, skin side down first, for 4 minutes each side. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.

3. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot add the onion, bell peppers and a bit of each seasoning to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic and cook constantly for 60 seconds. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, saffron, rice, crumbled bacon and half of the cilantro. Stir until mixed thoroughly; taste the broth and re-season if needed.

4. Add the chicken in an even layer and simmer over medium low heat, partially covered for 25 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. During the last few minutes of cooking, stir in the olives. Sprinkle the finished dish with the thawed peas (if using) and the remaining cilantro.

Burger and Fries Friday: Manchego-Stuffed Pork Burgers

This week's burger is unique, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. It comes from a recent issue of Food Network Magazine, and as soon as I saw it, I marked the page. Given my love of burgers, I thought this one would be right up my alley -- and it was.

Joe hates black olives, but pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives are one of his favorite foods in the world. Since the flavor of Spanish olives features prominently in this burger, I knew he'd like it too -- and I was right. Usually when I make burgers, I only use a pound of meat, but I still separate the meat into four patties. Most weeks, only three of the burgers get eaten -- I eat one, Joe eats two -- and usually the fourth is wasted. (Sometimes Andrew eats a few nibbles of it, but he's not too crazy about the texture yet.) Tonight, though? Joe ate three burgers. So I know that he really, really liked this one.

I followed the recipe exactly, except I cooked the burgers inside, only used one pound of meat, and added some chopped flat-leaf parsley to the meat mixture to add a little bit of freshness. This one was definitely a hit in our house!

Manchego-Stuffed Pork Burgers
source: adapted from Food Network Magazine, August/September 2009

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound ground pork
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (go light on the salt; the olives are pretty salty on their own)
1/4 pound manchego cheese, broken into bite-size pieces
4 rolls, split
Pimientos, tomato, red onion, and/or lettuce for topping, if desired

1. Place the vegetable oil, olives, garlic, oregano, chili powder, paprika, coriander, cumin and allspice in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and the parsley.

2. Mix the pork into the olive mixture; season with salt and pepper. Shape into four patties. Make a deep pocket in each; stuff with some manchego, then close the patty around the cheese.

3. Preheat a small amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook burgers until cooked through.

4. Brush the cut sides of the rolls with the remaining 1 tablespoon mayonnaise; broil until lightly toasted. Serve the burges on the rolls with your choice of toppings.

Spanish Rice Bake

I know I promised a lot more holiday recipes, but the time got away from me, and the only other holiday dessert I got around to making was a batch of Andes mint brownies (using this brownie recipe but replacing the chocolate chunks with chopped Andes mints). I did make a couple of holiday dishes, but I didn't take pictures of them and the OCD part of me won't let me post the recipes without pictures. So, sorry. You're just going to have to wait for those!

Anyway. Christmas is over, and it's time for Joe and me to get back to eating normal food in normal quantities. This is another recipe from Betty Crocker's 2009 Dinner Made Easy cookbook, and it was really good. Joe really liked it, and I thought it was quite tasty myself. The rice took about 20 minutes longer to cook than what the recipe indicated, though, and I thought that was pretty annoying. But otherwise, a delicious meal. I'd recommend making this on the weekend, since the prep and cooking time is kind of extensive and not really conducive to weeknight cooking (at least for me). I did add some hot sausage to feed Joe's carnivorous appetite; it would have been good with ground beef or chicken, too.

Spanish Rice Bake

Source: Betty Crocker's Dinner Made Easy cookbook (2009 edition)

2 tablespoons canola oil (I used olive oil)

1 cup uncooked brown long-grain rice

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed, drained (I neither thawed nor drained mine, and it was fine)

1 roll hot sausage, cooked and crumbled

1 can condensed tomato soup

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tablepoon chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 3-quart casserole with cooking spray. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook brown rice, onion and bell pepper in oil 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is light brown and onion is tender. Stir in corn and cooked sausage.

2. Mix remaining ingredients except cheese in casserole. Stir in rice mixture and 1 cup of the cheese.

3. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Stir mixture. Cover and bake about 30 minutes longer or until rice is tender (mine required 20 minutes more). Stir mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.