I feel so indulgent tonight. I have my pj’s on, my teeth brushed and my contacts out. I’m lying in bed, writing up a blog post, cat warming my feet, and then I’m off to sleep. And it’s only 7:45pm.
Yep, I’m on track to beat the kids to bed tonight. I’m just that whipped. One of my friends on facebook said it best when she wrote: “When are the holidays over, I’m ready for MY break!” As kids, the holidays are magical. For adults, they’re still a bit magical, but add to that, Exhausting. We hosted my family this year and then less than twelve hours after they left to go home, we packed ourselves into the car and drove 9.5 hours up to visit Scott’s family for the remainder of the vacation. We arrived home last night and spent the entire day today taking down Christmas decor and cleaning up all the mess we left behind after the guests departed. Add on to that a Christmas Eve party for the neighborhood (I think I wasn’t all together when I decided to attempt that feat, although I will admit it was a lot of fun when all was said and done) and a side trip to a friend’s for New Years 2 hours away from my in-laws and I can safely say that I am ready to retire Christmas for another year.
Considering that in addition to being exhausted we are now officially broke from all the gifts and travel, I decided to cook up dinner last night, despite the fact that we didn’t arrive home until 7pm and our fridge was looking like something you’d see in a fraternity house a bit bare. I was able to track down a few chicken breasts and put together a pan full of arroz con pollo.
Who knew I could illicit such a positive response from the natives after such a long and drawn out car ride? I’m guessing they were as happy as me to have a home cooked meal. Needless to say, this one is a keeper.
Ingredients Needed:
2 Tbsp Butter
3 Cloves Garlic
3 Chicken Breasts, Cubed
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Coriander
11/2 tsp Turmeric
1 Onion, Chopped
1 Pepper, Chopped
1 Can Diced Chiles
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Dried Rice
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese
Start out by heating up a large pan on medium heat and melting your butter. Add in your garlic and give it a minute or two to cook up.
Sprinkle your chicken with about 1 tsp of the cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Throw it in the pan and cook it up.
Now, I realize that when you see my pictures, you’ll notice the chicken isn’t exactly chopped up yet. That’s due to the fact that I’m incredibly lazy and didn’t thaw my chicken all the way, making it difficult to cube, and hence leaving it whole. You, of course are not as lazy as me, so consider chopping them up before hand and shaking them in a plastic bag with your spices to coat them completely.
Once your chicken is fully cooked, go ahead and add in your diced onion and pepper.
Cook it all up for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in your chiles and tomatoes.
Swirl it around once or twice and add in your broth.
Now add in your rice.
Finally, add in the remaining tsp of chili powder, cumin, and coriander, the salt, the remaining 1/2 tsp of turmeric and the onion powder.
Bring the pot to a boil and then turn down the heat to low. Simmer the mixture uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
Grab your shredded cheese and spread it across the top of the chicken mixture. Cover for another minute or two and allow your cheese to melt completely.
And what are you waiting for? Grab your appetite and some eating utensils and dig in.
Que bueno Mommy!
Arroz con Pollo
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Butter
3 Cloves Garlic
3 Chicken Breasts, Cubed
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Coriander
11/2 tsp Turmeric
1 Onion, Chopped
1 Pepper, Chopped
1 Can Diced Chiles
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Dried Rice
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese
Directions:
Start out by heating up a large pan on medium heat and melting your butter. Add in your garlic and give it a minute or two to cook up.
Sprinkle your chicken with about 1 tsp of the cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Throw it in the pan and cook it up.
Once your chicken is fully cooked, go ahead and add in your diced onion and pepper.
Cook it all up for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in your chiles and tomatoes.
Swirl it around once or twice and add in your broth. Now add in your rice.
Finally, add in the remaining tsp of chili powder, cumin, and coriander, the salt, the remaining 1/2 tsp of turmeric and the onion powder.
Bring the pot to a boil and then turn down the heat to low. Simmer the mixture uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
Grab your shredded cheese and spread it across the top of the chicken mixture. Cover for another minute or two and allow your cheese to melt completely.
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I’m so glad for you that you and your family are home and ready to get back into “normal”. We travelled all of last year’s break and were so exhausted we immediately made plans and told all relatives we would be staying HOME in 2010…. and we did! 🙂 Enjoy being home and getting back to your routine. BTW, I’m totally impressed that you would cook dinner after all that! My family would’ve probably been met with cereal. 🙂 Have a super start to your week Friend!!!
That looks really good! It sounds like it will take a couple of days to click completely into gear. I find when I am away that there is nothing like home and home cooking!
wow your were a busy lady this looks wonderful hope your fresh as a flower now hugs and happy new year Rebecca
I so agree that any time off wears a mom out!
This recipe looks great.
This sounds like an excellent family meal! I really like the spices that you use here, great flavors!
I totaly agree.. when the holiday season is over, you’re just too tired and need a break from working in the kitchen, wrapping the gifts… etc.
Now, getting to the best part. I know we’ll love this. Hubby would go crazy for something like this! I love this recipe( and all of yours). I am making it soon.
Have a great week ahead Julie.
Me too! I have been sleeping till late morning and napping! 🙂
Your arroz looks great!The cheese is a delicious added bonus!
I can’t wait for the holidays to be over. In Greece schools start again in a week. I have to be patient. This looks such a comforting and hearty meal. Beautiful!
Oh so good , looks so heartily wonderful!
I sure wanna catch up with lods of sleep too:-)
Brite and Happy sunshine new year to u, with lots and lots of love !
this was an exhausting holiday time! as a mom i love the prep, but there’s a point when you say enough is enough! i’m glad i’m not the only one! anne
I wasn’t convinced until I saw the cheese on top hahaha looks great! (and simple!)
I’m glad you’re finally able to take a break.
Yum! That does make you feel good when the family is excited to get back home for a good meal!
Oh, it looks so good!!
Wow Julie, that sure sounds like one hellava journey, no wonder your ready for bed & a rest. I don’t think anything tastes as wonderful as good old fresh & tasty home cooking after a series of feasts through the festive holidays. Welcome home girlfriend 🙂
Good job whipping up such a tasty meal after a long drive! We were busy too this holiday with all the gatherings but I can’t quite retire Christmas yet as I have company for the next two weeks!!
I can imagine how exhausting & yet fun holidays u have had.I love the sort of pilaf cum casserole u made with chicken, rice & vegetables…I can have it right now & its only 7 a.m here 🙂 I would have settled for a take out than making such a lovely meal after a tiring long drive..kudos:)
And thanks for the sweet comments, my friend!
I’m glad you are getting some rest! I agree that the holidays are exhausting. This meal looks delicious, and I’m sure it was perfect after a long day. I’m impressed you were able to whip this together. Thank you so much for sharing, sweet woman. Have a great rest of your week.
this dish looks so gorgeous! thanks for sharing this with us. have a nice day and happy new year:)
I made this last night and it was fabulous! my man has demanded that it be our new “usual”! and the leftovers are just as fantastic! thank you.
Oh how I’d like to tuck into a big bowl of that right now. Looks wonderful!
Happy New Year, Love!
Alex
I just made this with friends for lunch. It was delicious and incredibly simple. Except we had a lot of liquid after cooking the chicken/adding the tomatoes so we cut back majorly on the broth
You sure do know the way to my heart? stomach? no heart! What?? Forget it…that looks GEWD!
Love the spices you used…Great dish!
ACP is one of my favorite things to get when we go to the local mexican restaurant
Made this last night – didn’t change a thing, which is rather odd for me. Usually I see a recipe and then adapt and change, add, subtract and rearrange. I stuck to this one for whatever reason… well, now I know why!! I could have made myself sick on this, eating without stopping! So simple, so amazing! Thank you for my new comfort food!
I found your recipe through foodgawker awhile ago and since have made a handful of times. This is SO good and relatively simple. Thank you!
This looks delicious! I would love if you shared this in our comfort food Blog Hop. We’re giving away a prize from Wilton to the blogger with the most “likes”, come check it out! 🙂
http://www.recipelionblog.com/january-blog-hop-favorite-comfort-foods-giveaway/
Sarah @ RecipeLion
The only thing I did differently was add brown rice instead of white… mine come out incredibly soupy… like had to pour out the extra liquid and there was quite a bit. I followed the recipe to a “T”, anyone else use brown rice and it worked out?