Arroz con Pollo. EASY PEASY folks. Easy peasy.

Well as tonight I was severely lacking in the motivational department I needed an easy but filling easy dinner.  Not to mention my produce draws in the refrigerator is starting to look a bit barren. I decided to pull out my recipe book and let IT be the inspiration and motivation I needed to get food in the belly. Now I ALMOST decided on some chicken pot pie, but as I mentioned earlier, the motivation factor was just not there and making a pie shell was not on my agenda. Now as I always have rice handy and a frozen bag of chicken tenders I decided a batch of skillet Arroz con Pollo would be just spiffy.

I do have to mention, having a big bag of frozen chicken has saved me MORE than a time or two when in a dinner pinch. Great thing is you don't even have to de-thaw the little strips of poultry. They will actually turn out juicier and more tender if you throw em in your pan frozen and cook on med/high heat :)

So to start throw a few frozen or fresh chicken tenders (or 2 chicken breasts sliced in half) on a large skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium/high heat. Salt both sides while cooking.

Now if frozen, keep turning them once every 3 minutes or so until thoroughly cooked.

While the chicken is cooking, dice up 1/2 cups worth of an onion and carrot.

Once your chicken is cooked, remove from skillet and set aside. Then add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and add the carrots, onions, and about 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic. I LOVE to use bottled garlic. It keeps forever and is such a time saver.

Cook the onion, garlic, oil, and carrots for a good 5-8 minutes until onion starts to become translucent and garlic starts to brown.

Next add 2 cups chicken broth, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon dried cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup rice to the skillet and bring to a boil. Once broth is boiling cover the skillet and lower the heat to low (not ALL the way low...but you want to keep a steady simmer). While the rice is cooking, try to resist being a nosey netty and peaking under the lid. Just leave it alone for a good 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes is up and the rice just about cooked and there is a little liquid remaining still, add 1/2 cup of sliced bell pepper and cooked chicken tenders to the mix, cover and steam for another 5 minutes.

That's all there is too it :)

Here be the recipe breakdown for y'all:

4 chicken tenderloins or 2 chicken breasts sliced in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup white rice

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried cilantro (or 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro) this ingredient is optional

1/2 cup thinly sliced bell pepper

Cook chicken tenders in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and lightly salt each side. Once chicken is thoroughly cooked, remove from heat. Add additional 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, garlic, onion, and carrots and saute on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes and garlic begins to brown and onions start to become tender. Pour in chicken broth, salt, paprika, cilantro, and rice to the skillet. Bring to boil, cover, then lower heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes. When rice is almost cooked and there is a small amount of liquid remaining add cooked chicken and bell pepper. Cover and steam another 5 minutes.