Arroz con pollo recipe and my weekend!

Sunday night I made arroz con pollo from Gina's Skinny Recipe. It turned out really well and was very filling, but I changed the recipe ever so slightly to make it how I wanted it. It was very easy to make, and great to save for lunch later in the week because it makes a lot. Here is the recipe with my changes (highlighted in pink) and some pictures of the process.

Arroz Con Pollo, Lightened Up
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Size: 1 cup rice 1 thigh • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 8 ptsCalories: 311.1 • Fat: 4.6 g • Protein: 17.9 g • Carb: 48 g • Fiber: 0.6 g    

• 8 skinless chicken thighs I used 4 boneless, skinless breasts, chopped in bite-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 packet Goya sazon 
• about 1/2 tsp adobo
• about 1/2 garlic powder
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 scallions
• 2 tbsp bell pepper
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups enriched long grain rice (I used brown rice, but it takes way longer, will explain later)
• 4 cups water
• 1 chicken bouillon
• 1 packet Goya Sazon
• salt

Some ingredients

Chopped tomatoes and mixture from food processor.

Season chicken with vinegar, sazon, adobo and garlic powder and let it sit 10 minutes. Heat a large deep heavy skillet on medium, add oil when hot. Add chicken and brown 5 minutes on each side. (Here, I just sauteed the pieces until they were almost fully cooked, then transferred them to a plate with a slotted spoon. They don't need to be cooked all the way because you put them back in with the rice to cook more.) Remove and set aside.

Chicken after adding the Sazon, it is a really pretty bright orange color

Place onion, cilantro, garlic, scallions and pepper in mini food processor. (I roughly chopped the onion, pepper and scallions, then added the garlic cloves whole and the cilantro. I pulsed them several time, but not enough to make it a paste.) Add 1 tsp olive oil to the skillet and sauté (the mixture from the food processor) on medium-low until soft, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, cook another minute. Add rice, mix well and cook another minute. Add water, bouillon (be sure it dissolves well) and sazon, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Taste for salt, should taste salty enough to suit your taste, add more as needed.

What the ingredients in the food processor should look like after a few pulses

After everything was added

Add chicken and nestle into rice (for my version, I just stirred in the chicken pieces), bring to a boil. Simmer on medium-low until most of the water evaporates and you see the liquid bubbling at the top of the rice line, then reduce heat to low heat and cover. Make sure the lid has a good seal, no steam should escape (You could place a piece of tin foil in between the lid and the pot if steam escapes).

Cook 20 minutes without opening the lid. (If you use brown rice it will take much longer, mine took almost an hour! I did open the lid to stir occasionally, oops! Also, if you use brown rice, I think it comes out much stickier than with white rice, though it was still really good. I guess it's just personal preference.) Shut heat off and let it sit with the lid on an additional 10 minutes (don't peak!!!) Fluff with a fork and eat!

End result! YUM!

It turned out really well, and the family really enjoyed it. We paired it with asparagus and a salad.


My weekend was pretty calm, Saturday I was planning on going to the farmers market, but it never happened. We went a started clearing out my storage unit Saturday morning (talk about the worst thing in the world, I HATE storage units so much!) Then my mom and I went to a friend of her's house who sells a clothing line called Etcetera out of her home. The stuff is really cute, and my mom and I both found several things. (Mine are all for work, but can definitely be for church or nice dinners this summer as well.) I can't wait until they get in, which will hopefully be by this weekend so I can wear on of the skirt suits to my GSU accepted student reception next Tuesday. After that, we went to look at rugs....again. (if you can't tell, I am SO over looking at rugs!!!)


Sunday, we went to church, then mom and I picked up 2 of the fabrics we decided on and went on another run to the storage unit and to HomeGoods, where I got a really nice green duvet cover for my bed. We decided to have standard shams made in a pretty pink and green fabric for my bed and then just go with a white coverlet and a plain green duvet. I am excited to see how it all looks in my new apartment. Sunday night I made dinner and went to bed early.


All in all it was a nice weekend, with beau-ti-ful weather!


I hope y'alls weekends were great as well!


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