Charlyn’s Web

I have been looking for a good Arroz con Pollo recipe but it seems that most I see are just chicken on top of Mexican rice. They seemed bland. Then I got a free issue of Cooks Illustrated, which is a pretty neat (and expensive) magazine. They go through the process they take to make a recipe better. There was a mention in there about an Arroz con Pollo recipe they did last fall. Of course, the recipe is no longer available online (except for Premium members). So I searched the web to see if anyone had posted it. I found one but the lady had altered it some to suit her tastes but the methodology was there and she pointed out what she had changed. I also found another Cuban recipe that did similar things. Last night I took the plunge and made it. I gave myself plenty of time, the recipe said it would take just over an hour but I figured it would take longer being the first time for me. Also, the girls were asleep so at least I didn’t have a brown head between me and the counter. (Kirsten has taken a great interest in what I am doing in the kitchen.) It took about an hour and a half- which made it done before Brett got home but it kept fine. I also cooked up some pinto beans, a really big batch and will freeze some of it. Added some onions, green pepper, garlic, cilantro and green chiles to some of the beans. Yum.

I had to please Mr. “Put Tapatio on Everything.” He doesn’t like bland- but at least he will try something now before he puts the sauce on, as that tends to upset the cook. Don’t want to upset the cooks, ya know- they tend to get huffy. But even he thought the Arroz con Pollo was good even without sauce on it! It made a huge batch. Next time I would like to try it with the medium grain rice (or Mexican rice) that the recipe recommends. I think it’s a keeper, AND I even wrote down what changes I made to the recipe as I went along. Wow, may even be able to recreate it! Wouldn’t that be something!

I also made some of my “Not Quite World Famous” Salsa. Which is gone already. It was really good.

Of course that causes another dilemma as we’ve been trying to lose weight and if it tastes good then we tend to overeat…. sigh.