Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice

Ever in my quest to venture outside the cooking box, tonight the table counterparts were treated with Asopao De Pollo, a traditional Puerto Rican chicken stew. Very similar to a T&T staple, Chicken and Rice, this recipe was seasoned with a Mexican flare, and wait for it, green olives. Yes, green olives. Peppers, tomatoes, onions, chicken, green olives. Let's go,

Modifications Made:

When discovering this recipe, I originally was attempting to follow this Asopao de Pollo recipe. There was just not enough pictures to follow along and my Spanish only extends to the basic words not full complete, detailed cooking instructions. The recipe did not seem complicated but I did not want to miss a crucial step so another version was sought out.

A whole chicken was boiled with onions, garlic, jalapeno, three pollo do tomate cubes, and enough water to leave at least five cups of chicken broth remain.

In a dutch oven, onions, bell peppers, garlic, and canned tomatoes were cooked in oil until soft. Shredded chicken, rice, broth, bay leaf, red pepper flakes were added to vegetables. Brought to a simmer, salt and pepper were adjusted and mixture cooked until rice tender. Green olives were added and dish allowed to rest for ten minutes before serving.

Green peas were omitted.

Scaled for Likability: Good
This table and it what it likes or dislikes never ceases to amaze me. 99% of all meals are decided upon by myself. There are the few times (less than a handful) when one or the other will make a suggestion or even bring a recipe to share. They are mostly content with whatever is served. Oh sure, comments will be made if the dish is a complete flop but tonight's recipe did not fit the standard routine and I was expecting some grumbles, some sideways glances, some hesitation. When seconds were asked for, they each had their own specific requests. One wanted more of the olives, the other more of the rice/veggie mix. Yup, never cease to amaze.

The olives were what did me in and I love green olives. Just not in my meat dishes as it turns out. All of the olives were picked around and left on my plate. When dinner was over, my plate looked like that of a child where the "greens" were pushed around and omitted from ever touching my fork much less my palate.

Was the dish good enough to eat again, yes. And in this game of eating outside the box, that makes this meal a winner.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese ...

Eating Waffles

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