Happy Monday nerds! It’s been a while. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones, and Happy New Year!

It snowed like crazy on Saturday. I honestly had NO idea it was supposed to snow! I needed to go grocery shopping on Friday but had no energy after the week I had at the office. So when I realized the snow wasn’t letting up I had to dig in my freezer and pantry to figure out what to make for dinner. Cold and snowy days call for comfort food. So after digging through what I had I decide to make Arroz con Pollo. Well, not the typical kind but my take on it with whatever I had.

What you’ll need:

• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 bags of Trader Joe’s Frozen Organic Brown Rice
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 packet of Sazon
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 cup of Trader Joe’s frozen mixed peppers chopped
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 1 cup of frozen mushrooms chopped
• 8 cloves of garlic chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp adobo
• 1 tsp Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
• A few dashes of each: cumin, turmeric, paprika all too your taste
• Salt to your taste
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

In a frying pan, sear both sides of the chicken thighs, no need to cook through, just get some nice color on the outside of the chicken and set aside.

In same skillet sautée onions and garlic. Once translucent, add all other veggies, can of diced tomatoes, and spices.

In a lasagna tray, dump the two bags of rice on the bottom. Then throw in the veggies and mix. Add the broth and mix again. Taste the liquid and adjust salt. Then cut each chicken thigh into 3 pieces and place in the mixture. Cover with aluminum foil tightly and place in the oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

I have never made this before, and I know I didn’t have the right veggies, but threw it together anyway. And WOW! I was amazed at how this came out. Everyone in my family loved it, and I hope you do to.  It was the perfect meal for a cold, snowy, wintry day.

Bon Appetito!
Silvia