Spanish Chicken with Yellow Rice

Arroz Amarillo con Pollo

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

This is another recipe that my mother-in-law gave to me and it is one of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes.

1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
2 cups uncooked rice
1 envelope Sazon Goya con Azafran
1 Knorr Chicken-flavor bouillon cube
1 tsp dry parsley
Pepper, to taste
4 cups water, divided
1 can (15.25 oz) whole-kernel corn, drained (optional)

Sprinkle the chicken with Adobo. In a 3-quart chicken fryer or saucepan, saute chicken in oil over medium heat until light brown; remove chicken from pan. Add butter and onion to pan and saute until soft, stirring often. Meanwhile, dissolve bouillon in one cup water in microwave. Add rice to onion and stir to coat with oil. Add Sazon Goya, dissoved bouillon cube, parsley, pepper, remaining 3 cups of water, and corn; bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until all liquid is gone. Add chicken and gently toss with rice; cover and reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender about 15 to 20 minutes, turning rice once halfway through cooking. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Substitutions:

• 4 cups chicken stock for bouillon and water
• 4 chicken breast halves (not cubed, with or without bones, but skinless)
  
• 4 center-cut pork chops
  

Serve with a tossed salad, sliced avocado, mango, and/or tostones.

Blueberry Crumb Pie

Prep Time: 90 minutes
Serves: 8

This is Michael's favorite pie, so I have taken some pains to get it just right. I'll probably change it again, but here it is so far:

Filling:
3 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen*
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix berries, sugar, and flour and put in an unbaked pie shell.

*If using frozen blueberries, increase flour to 3 to 4 Tablespoons.

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick cold butter, cut in quarters
3/4 cup quick oats
1/2 cup flour

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until it forms lumps and butter is mixed in.

Top pie with crumbs, cover crust with strips of foil, and bake for about 1 hour.

Sausage and Peppers

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

My mother-in-law taught me this recipe. I made a few small changes to it, though.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage
1 Tbsp olive oil, optional
1 large onion, cut in 1/2-inch wedges
2 bell peppers (red and/or green), cut in 1/2-inch strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Pierce sausages with a fork. Cook either in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour (turn once) or cook in a preheated frying pan over medium-low heat, turning occasionally until medium brown. Remove sausage to a plate. Using 1 Tbsp sausage drippings or olive oil, saute onion, peppers, and garlic in same frying pan over medium-high heat until tender-crisp.

Meanwhile, slice sausage diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and sausage to pepper mixture and cook until heated through. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Variation: Serve over hot cooked pasta or rolls.

To make a freezer meal: Cook the sausage in the oven, then let them cool, slice them and freeze them in labeled quart-size freezer bags. Then, cut the peppers and onions and put them in another freezer bag and freeze them. Then, on cooking day, follow the recipe without thawing anything and add the tomatoes and seasonings! So easy!

Bowties with Chicken and Bacon

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Whitney. It's delicious (therefore not so healthy), even my picky eaters love it! Here's the recipe as given to me:

1 box bowtie (Farfalle) pasta
2 to 3 chicken breasts, depending on size
4 to 6 strips bacon
1 stick butter
1/4 cup dried basil
2 cloves garlic

Cook pasta according to box. Meanwhile, cook bacon until a little overcooked. You want it to be crisp. Dump out grease, but don't wash pan. Cook chicken and let cool. Cut chicken into chunks. Dump out grease, but don't wash pan. Melt butter and cook garlic. Add dried basil. Put bacon in a plastic bag and crush into bits. Combine everything in a large serving bowl. Serve warm topped with Parmesan cheese.


This is what I do when I'm in a hurry (almost always!):

1 box bowtie (Farfalle) pasta
1 cup frozen vegetables (such as broccoli, peas, or chopped spinach), optional
1 stick butter
1/2 cup precooked bacon pieces*
1 tsp dried minced garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 can (13 oz.) chicken, drained
1/4 cup dried basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Put frozen vegetables in a colander in the sink. Drain pasta over vegetables. Lower heat to medium-low and add butter, bacon, and garlic (if using garlic powder, add with the basil). When butter is melted add the chicken, basil, salt, pepper, and pasta. Remove from heat and stir. Serve immediately topped with Parmesan cheese.

*I found a big bag of precooked bacon pieces in the refrigerator section at Sam's Club. When I got home, I put 1/2 cup bacon into labeled snack-size ziplock bags, then put all of the bags in a large freezer bag and put it in the freezer. Now when I need crumbled bacon, I just grab a bag and heat it in a skillet or microwave it just to crisp it up. So easy!!


Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.

Tex-Mex Chicken & Rice Soup

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8

8 cups water
2 Tbsp dried minced garlic
1/2 cup dried chopped onion
1 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 cup chicken gravy mix
1/2 cup water
1 to 2 (13 oz each) cans chicken*, flaked
1 can kidney beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes or diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup frozen corn (or 1/2 cup canned corn)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or 2 to 4 Tbsp dried cilantro, crushed between palms)

Put water in a large pot and turn on high heat. Add garlic, onion, and rice and bring to a boil. Mix gravy mix and water together in a small bowl or cup and add slowly to soup while stirring. Simmer 15 minutes, then add chicken, beans, tomatoes, and sugar. Cook until rice is tender; remove from heat and add corn and cilantro; stir. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Topping ideas: shredded cheddar, sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips

Side dish ideas: tossed salad, Ritz crackers topped with cream cheese and salsa, cornbread...

*I used 1 1/2 cans of chicken

Almost all measurements are approximate (except cans and rice). For a spicier version, add some hot sauce or cayenne pepper.

Grilled Eggplant

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

I found this recipe online, but can't find it anymore, so here's how I remember - and how I have changed it:

1 large eggplant, cut in 1/2" slices
Kosher salt (or table salt)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced

Sprinkle salt on both sides of each slice and let sit for 15 minutes; rinse off salt. Heat grill over medium-high heat or turn oven on broil. Mix together vinegar, oil, seasoning, and garlic; brush on both sides of each slice of eggplant. Grill or broil 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve immediately.

The kids keep wanting to buy eggplant so they can have this. They love it!

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Makes: About 4 dozen 2-inch cookies


One of my favorite cookies, but horribly addictive.

Lay out 2 to 3 feet aluminum foil on the counter.

Mix together in a large pot:
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Mix in:
1 cup milk

Start heating on high, then add:
2 sticks margarine (do not substitute)

Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 2 full minutes. Remove from heat and add:
1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
5 cups quick oats (do not substitute)

Quickly drop by teaspoonfuls onto foil. Wait for cookies to completely set up, then remove and store in an airtight container.

One of my favorite ways to eat these are to crumble 2 or 3 cookies in a cup of milk and eat it with a spoon.

This is a cookie that Christian constantly requests.

Spanish Rice and Beans

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4-6


This is a recipe that my mother-in-law taught me and I have made it the way I remember, which is probably not the way she makes it. It also happens to be one of Michael's absolute favorite meals.

2 cans kidney beans, undrained
1/4 cup sofrito
15 to 20 Spanish green olives with juice (adjust to taste)
1 envelope Sazón Goya con culantro y achiote
1 pkg sabor a jamón de cocinar (ham flavored concentrate), opt
1 (8oz) can Goya tomato sauce
1 Tbsp capers, opt
Enough water to make it saucy

2 cups uncooked rice

Start cooking rice first according to package directions and when it is done, the beans should be too. Put all ingredients except rice in a medium saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately over hot cooked rice. Serves 6 to 8.

Serve with a tossed green salad, sliced avocado, mango, and/or tostones.
I also like to serve this as a side dish with center cut pork chops that are seasoned with Adobo, then fried over medium heat until cooked through.

If you don't use Sofrito very often, freeze it in small portions in small resealable bags.

Variations:
Add chopped roasted red peppers, to taste
Add a cup or two cubed potatoes or cubed pumpkin or butternut squash and cook until soft