Arroz Con Pollo

Tonight I'm going to share with you one of my most fabulous creations....Arroz con Pollo.  Chicken and Rice.  This isn't just any chicken and rice.  This is Mexican Rice with chicken, drowned in enchilada sauce and covered with melted cheese.  This is one of my recipes that makes me pop my own collar.  One of our favorite Mexican restaurants serves Arroz con Pollo, and one day I was craving it.  I thought, "It's just Mexican rice with chicken, enchilada sauce, and cheese, why can't I do that?" And so was birthed my version of this delicious dish.  The essential layers are the Mexican Rice (my recipe), cooked cut up chicken (you can shortcut it and just buy a rotisserie chicken if you're in a rush), enchilada sauce (The oh-so-fabulous Pioneer Woman's recipe), and then shredded cheese.  I'll be breaking this down by recipe/layers as we go.
List of all of the Ingredients you'll need for this dish
canola oil (or veggie oil)
flour
Long Grain White Rice
Chicken Broth (approx 4 cups)
2 cans Diced tomatoes
salt
pepper
cilantro
shredded cheddar cheese
bag of frozen peas & carrots
garlic clove
yellow onion
1 28 cans of Enchilada Sauce (La Victoria Mild)
3 cooked Chicken breasts cut up into bite sizes

First up is the Mexican Rice.  Here's what you will need:

It's taken me a LONG time to get the secrets of how to make Mexican Rice out of my Mother-In-Law!  Mine still isn't quite her's, but it's pretty darn tasty!  The most important step to gaining authentic Mexican Rice is "washing" the rice.  Who knew?!?! In order to not have sticky rice, you need to rinse off the starch.

Rinse 2 cups white rice in a strainer (about 2 minutes until water runs clear). 

Set on paper towels to dry. 

In a blender add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1-2 cloves of garlic (depending on size), a chunk of onion (See the above picture to see what I use.  It's a slice of a yellow), and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Puree.

Measure mixture

Add chicken broth until just under 4 cups. (Another important note when making any quantity of Mexican rice is that you essentially want to almost double the liquid to the amount of rice)

 
Add canola oil (or veggie oil) to a saute pan or pot (enough to coat the rice).  Put on med heat. 

 Add rice.  Saute until rice is browned (should be a reddish color and some rice will look broken).

This is not ready yet.  You will be worried about burning it, but don't!  We want a dark color....                                            

 

THIS is the color you want.  Now we're talkin'!

Then add liquid mixture.

Next grab your frozen peas & carrots, and throw in a handful.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid has evaporated.

Don't be concerned when you first remove the lid.  Tomato rises, we need to stir.

Once you've stirred, it will look like this.

CONGRATULATIONS!  You just made Mexican Rice!  Yum!  Onto our next layer.  Chicken.

You can go the super simple way of just buying a rotisserie chicken.  You can throw some chicken breasts in a crock pot, a little oil/garlic salt/pepper.  Or you can do as I did and put them in the oven on 350 for 45 minutes with a little oil, pepper/garlic salt. 

(Ignore that I have 4 breasts here, one was for the munchkins who have yet to venture into the wonderful world of Arroz con Pollo.  Only dice up 3)

Now for the most wonderful/easy enchilada sauce recipe!  This is what you'll need:

Heat 2 Tbsp Canola Oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add 2 Tbsp Flour to make a roux.  Stir and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 28oz can of Enchilada Sauce (I use La Victoria Mild), 2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro. Bring to a boil then lower and simmer for 45 minutes.  You can find this lovely recipe here.  (Btw, that is THE.BEST.ENCHILADA.RECIPE.EVER.  Every time I've made them, I've gotten rave reviews!)

Now that you have your layer ingredients ready, let's layer!  Grab a 13X9 Pyrex dish. 

  

Our foundation is Mexican Rice.

Second layer is the bite sized pieces of chicken.

Let's drown this puppy in enchilada sauce!

The only thing that could make this better is cheese.  Lots of shredded, sharp, cheddar cheese!

Now throw this fabulous concoction in a 350 degree oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until it's all bubbly and the cheese is melted.

If heaven has food, this is what it would look like. 

Now if you'll excuse me, this post has made my tummy growl and there are leftovers that are screaming my name! Please enjoy and let me know if you do!