Eating from the Pantry: Cinco De Mayo Edition!

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo tomorrow I'm posting a slightly authentic version of Arroz con Pollo, or chicken & rice. It's as authentic as a southern Virginia girl can get anyway.

You'll see the recipe list has a couple of unusual ingredients, but they were easily found & affordable so don't let that keep you from making this. (Goya Sazon can be found in the ethnic sections of Kroger, Food Lion, Walmart and even some Dollar General stores for under $2 and I picked up the Adobo powder at the Dollar Tree.)

Arroz con Pollo (aka Chicken & Rice) (as adapted from this recipe)


4 skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tbsp vinegar
1/4 packet Goya Sazon
1/4 tsp adobo powder
1/4 garlic powder
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion
1/4 cup cilantro
3 cloves garlic
3 green onions
2 tbsp bell pepper
1 tomato, diced
1 1/2 cups enriched long grain rice
2 1/4 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 packet Goya Sazon
salt to taste

Sprinkle chicken with vinegar, sazon, adobo powder and garlic powder; let it sit for 10 minutes. While that is resting put the onion, cilantro, garlic, green onions, and peppers into a small processor; pulse till finely chopped like this:

In a large, deep pan heat till medium hot & then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add chicken & brown on each side for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and saute the minced veggies for about 3 minutes. Add diced tomato and cook another minute. Add rice and cook an additional minute. Then add water, bouillon cube and sazon; be sure the bouillon cube is completely dissolved. Add salt to taste. (Very important! I didn't add enough at this step IMO and ended up salting it at the end too.)

Add chicken back to the pan; bring to a boil. Simmer on medium low until most of the water evaporates, then reduce heat to low and cover. Make sure the lid has a good seal and steam is not escaping. (Use a piece of foil in between lid & pan if necessary.)

Simmer 25-30 minutes; then shut off the heat and let it sit in the pan with the lid on for an additional 10 minutes. Do not take the lid off! After 10 minutes fluff the rice & dig in!

I have to admit this recipe took longer than my normal weekday meals but in the end it was well worth the effort. The chicken was perfect and the rice put our local restaurants to shame. The only problem I had was that I didn't salt it enough while cooking so I had to additional at the end.