I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

Well my last post was Mother's Day weekend and then I got laryngitis and the last two weeks were rough.  My voice just came back Tue, I had lost it for NINE days.  Anyways, I am back in the saddle again.  Tonight I am just going to bring you a simple little recipe that has been a favorite of mine for years.  I started doing Dream Dinners when I was pregnant with my first born and for about 3 years I did it really regularly.  People think it is super expensive but if you consider how I tend to cook rather elaborately it was a lot less expensive truly.  However our local branch went belly up, apparently not too many others felt it was worth the cost. Every now and then when I am feeling ambitious I will do my own version in my kitchen and cook a ton of meals and freeze them.  But mysteriously no little workers come out and clean up after me.  That is a real bummer.  Well one of my favorites of Dream Dinners was their legendary Arroz Con Pollo.  Well this week a bunch of ladies from my church did a mass freezer meal exchange and I requested that we do a healthy group and I decided to make this because I generally think Mexican goes over well and my kids love the rice/bean/corn combo.  I will give you the recipe and then I will explain a little modification issues.

Arroz Con Pollo



Arroz con pollo, or rice with chicken, is a classic Spanish one-pot meal.

1 cup uncooked rice
1 can black beans, drained I used organic1 can corn with red and green peppers
6 (4oz each) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
I gotta add my Mrs Dash's Fiesta Lime! About tsp (who am I kidding I don't really measure!)

½ cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa (Jack's fresh salsa)1 cup marinara sauce (organic)
1 cup red, orange and yellow bell peppers, diced
½ cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (you know me, I like double this!)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup shredded cheese

Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Prepare the rice according to package directions (beware, see below!). Spread the rice over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer the beans, corn, and chicken over the rice and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients minus the cheese. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.
For dinner tonight... Preheat the oven to 350 F (175C). Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the chicken breasts reaches 165F.
If you make a double and want to freeze half... Before baking, cover the dish with foil. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking as directed above

OK here is my problem, when we used to make this a dream dinners we never cooked the rice first and previously I never had but suddenly with the meal exchange the pressure was on and I wanted to do it "by the book" so I did cook it before.  Gotta tell you it wrecked it a little for me! Sorry ladies who got my meal! Usually I am a rule breaker and I guess it pays.  It just was too liquidy whereas normally the rice sucks in the fluids and makes the food more flavorful.  Bummer.  So please break the rules and don't cook the rice before hand! 

Now for an alternative, you can change this up.  Here goes, are you ready... Dump everything in a crock pot and let it cook all day on low.   The chicken shreds apart and it makes yummy burrito type filling, throw it in a tortilla, yum. Add a little fresh guacamole, lettuce, diced tomato, yogurt or fat free sour cream.   Ummm... Presto change-o it's like a totally different recipe.  I love it both ways so I switch it up back and forth. So the regular recipe straight up is 10pts.  Enjoy this one if you haven't had it before.  I'll be back again soon, I love all your encouragement, you keep listening, I'll keep writing!