Arroz con Pollo

If you ask my stepdaughter what she had for dinner on any given night, more often than not, the answer is “chicken and rice,” a dinner staple she could happily have every day. So when I spied an easy recipe for it in a magazine over the weekend, dinner plans quickly came together.

The Husband came into the kitchen mid-process and spied me pouring the rice into the pot. “You’re making rice?” he asked suspiciously. He was poking fun at me since he thinks that his rice is the best. Whatevah. When he asked what dinner was going to be, I waited for a wise comment after I responded “Arroz con Pollo.” Given that it was a recipe clipped from Quick & Simple magazine, I anticipated jibes that it wasn’t traditional, blah, blah, blah, but surprisingly, not a word. During dinner, he went back for thirds and deemed it good. Go figure. I didn’t think it was a wow or anything to write home about, but it was simple enough to make, they all liked it, and more importantly, if it gets them all to eat peas, I’m all for it.

The magazine calculated this recipe at $5.98 for the entire thing, so between that and the 5 grams of fat per serving, you’ve got a bargain, healthy dish.

Arroz con Pollo
Recipe courtesy of Quick & Simple magazine

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 small chicken thighs, skin and fat removed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lemon
1-1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
14-1/2 oz can chicken broth
1-1/4 cups water
10 oz package frozen peas
1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, drained and chopped (I didn’t chop)

In a nonstick 12-inch skillet, warm oil over medium heat until hot. Add chicken and sprinkle with black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add onion and green pepper to skillet. Saute, turning chicken once and stirring vegetable mixture occasionally, until chicken is browned and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to remove a 3-inch strip of peel from the lemon. Cut the lemon into wedges for garnish.

Stir lemon peel, rice, garlic, cayenne, broth, water and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt into mixture in skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in frozen peas; cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in olives. Spoon into a serving dish and garnish with lemon wedges.

Each serving: 323 calories, 20g protein, 5g fat, 4g fiber.

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