Mondays with Michelle: Arroz Con Pollo

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Here's another "In case you missed" it from my Foodie Blog. This one is about preparing a healthier version of one of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes Arroz Con Pollo... enjoy!

Tonight's  plan for dinner is one of my childhood favs, Arroz con Pollo (chicken with rice). I picked up some chicken legs the other day (since they were on sale at Kroger) with this dish in mind. I've experimented with this fav a ton, I've made it in the traditional one-pot fashion, I've tried half rice cooker/half stove top, I've added pigeon peas (yum), I've tried a more Spanish style and cooked it in the oven... like I said, I've experimented a ton and it has all be delicious.With my recent weight loss efforts I decided that I would change this recipe a little bit to make it as figure friendly as possible. In order to do that, I decided to use brown rice instead of white rice. Keep in mind this changes the dish quite a bit because the texture of brown rice is different than white rice, but that doesn't mean that it can't be just a flavorful.

The recipe is listed below, but before you get to that here is a step by step via some photo's I took during the process, check it out...

Season the chicken with Michelle's Essence

Allow the oil to reach smoke point before you add your chicken to ensure a nice sear.

Add these packets of goodness into the pot along with the rice, stock and chicken and allow to simmer.

Add in the gandules after simmering for about 15 minutes. Then put the lid back on and allow to simmer until done.

The liquid should be completely absorbed and the rice should be tender once it is done.

Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro and it's ready to eat! You can also chose to pull the meat off the bones and serve it that way, but I find that the meat falls right off the bone anyways so it's not necessary.

• Season chicken legs with Michelle’s Essence and set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a good sized pot over medium high heat.
• Brown chicken legs on all sides (about 2 minutes on each side) and then remove from heat.
• Add diced peppers and onions to the same pot that you just browned the chicken in, allow to cook for just a minute or until fragrant.
• Add the chicken back to the pot with the diced vegetables and reduce the heat to medium low heat.
• Add rice, chicken stock and both packets of Sazon to the pot. Make sure rice is completely covered in liquid. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the gandules to the pot; be sure to drain the liquid out first. Do not over mix, just fold in without disturbing the rice too much.
• Continue to simmer until rice is completely cooked, about another 15 minutes.
• Taste and add white spice as needed.
• Enjoy!

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