Arroz Con Pollo

A few month ago I ordered the special in our favorite Mexican restaurant not sure even what I was ordering. I knew that Pollo was chicken and rice was involved so I knew it would be good. I enjoyed it so much that I spent a good part of the meal dissecting the flavours. I looked online for a recipe and was surprised to find many and so with the staples I had in the freezer and pantry I made a combination which we enjoyed very much.

• 3 frozen or fresh skinless boneless chicken breasts or 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion . .diced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dill weed
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 796 ml or 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoon minced chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (you may use more after the sauce simmers a bit if you want it hotter
• 1 cup of diced roasted sweet red peppers (or you could just use 1 diced pepper which you would then add with the onion)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons flour

1. Cube the raw chicken into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat a large saucepan to medium high and then add the olive oil and the chicken and brown it all over.
3. Turn the heat down to medium.
4. Add the onions and garlic and stir until the onion is translucent about 5 minutes.
5. Add all the spices and and stir for a few minutes allowing the spices to blend.
6. Add the tomatoes and chipotle peppers and diced roasted red pepper. (these could be blended if you want a smoother sauce. .we prefer our sauces chunky)
7. Combine the room temperature chicken broth and flour until smooth and add to the rest of the sauce.
8. Stir in the lime juice last and allow to simmer 15 minutes.
9. Serve with hot rice. You can use soft flour tortilla shells to the chicken sauce in or .. just put the sauce over the rice. . sprinkling with some shredded lettuce and a bit of shredded cheese and some guacamole on the side with crispy tortilla chips.

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