Latin-Style Chicken & Rice

Since we are in the midst of the holiday season – can you believe Thanksgiving is already next week?? – it is safe to say that most of us are busy, busy, busy trying to prepare for holiday dinners, get-togethers, parties, or whatnot and while our time may be limited we still have to eat, we just may not have as much time to prepare and clean-up after meals. That is why this month’s theme for my cooking board’s recipe swap was perfect – one-pot meals! Throw everything in a pot, let it cook while you do other things, and then you only have one pot and a few dishes from dinner to clean up afterwards instead of an entire kitchen. How awesome is that??

I got a recipe from Mary Ellen of Mary Ellen’s Cooking Creations that allowed me to use two of my favorite quickie foods – chicken and rice!! It didn’t hurt that I also got to use saffron, which is a treat! Oh, but I was reminded that I do not like peas! Easy to pick out though and the chicken and rice were delicious! After an extremely busy week at work and no signs of things slowing down for the upcoming week of Thanksgiving celebrations, it was nice to have a low-maintenance meal to wind the week down with. Thaks Mary Ellen for a great one-pot meal!!

To see the rest of the one-pot meals in the swap, check out the round-up on Sarah’s blog

1. Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until foam subsides
2. Add chicken, cook approximately 4-5 min per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. Cook onion and garlic with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper over medium heat until golden, about 6 minutes.
3. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
4. Add broth, water, bay leaf, and saffron; bring to a full boil.
5. Return chicken to the pot, nestling it in the rice, keeping as much rice around, not under, the chicken. Also add any juices from the plate.
6. Cover tightly and simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, the rice is tender, and most of the liquid has absorbed; about 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in peas.
8. Cover pot with a kitchen towel, and then the lid, and let stand until all of the liquid has absorbed, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf.