Red Rice with Chicken

This hearty, well-seasoned dish is budget friendly as well as delicious.

Makes about 6 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ pounds chicken pieces of your choosing

¾ to 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning (to taste)

3 large red bell peppers, seeded, cut in strips

1 large onion, cut in strips

8 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

1 tablespoon paprika

1 ½ cups long-grain white rice

2 cups (or a little more) chicken broth

2/3 cup cream of tomato soup

1 ½ cups frozen small peas, thawed

1/4 cup parsely, chopped

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with Cajun Seasoning. The 15-minute pre-cook: add the chicken, and cook for 10 minutes, then add bell peppers, onion, garlic and oregano to the pot. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Mix in the paprika and rice and stir to coat. Add the chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer until the chicken and rice are tender and the liquids are absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Add more broth if the mixture becomes dry during the cooking time. Stir in the peas and parsley and add more Creole Seasoning if desired. Cook until the peas are heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve

NOTE: Since red bell pepper are $1.50 each in my local supermarket, I substitute green bell pepper.

If you choose skinless, boneless chicken pieces, cube them and reduce the pre-cook time from a total of 15 minutes to 5 minutes.

Lovely, Fluffy, Mexican Rice

Serves 6

1 Cup Long-grain White Rice
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth
1/2 Each Onion, finely chopped
1/2 Each Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 Teaspoons Jalapeno Pepper, chopped
3 5/8 Fluid Ounces Tomatoes With Green Chilies
2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
1/2 Each Chicken Bouillon Cube, Knorr's
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 Cup Cilantro Leaves, Whole
1 Clove Garlic, minced

1. Saute rice in oil over medium heat for bout 3 minutes.
2. Carefully, pour in chicken broth, and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in onion, green pepper, jalapeno, tomato sauce, and can of tomato & chilies. Season with bouillon cube, salt and pepper, cumin, cilantro, and garlic.
4. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to very low. Cook for 20 minutes.
5. Fluff with fork and garnish with fresh cilantro.

NOTE: Rather than opening a can of tomato sauce only to use 2 tablespoons, you can substitute with a little tomato paste from one of those convenient tubes. The addition of the sauce or paste is mainly for color. Another option is to use Knorr's tomato bouillon with chicken rather than the just chicken flavor called for in the recipe. Yet another option, although I would say the last option you should use, is to use a bit of ketchup.

Mexican Rice by Suzie

We had tacos at our house last night so I fixed this delicious rice dish to serve with them. Years ago I found this recipe in a lovely book called - Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook. Enjoy!

• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 tomatoes, peeled
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/3 onion, chunked
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 small sprig parsley
• 3 serrano peppers or 1 large jalapeno
• 1/2 cup carrot, chopped small
• 1/4 cup peas

1. Soak the rice for 5 minutes in warm water. Rinse well and drain. Meanwhile, puree the tomatoes in a blender and strain.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the rice and saute, stirring, until translucent and grains separate. Pour off any excess oil.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes to the skillet with the rice. Cook for 4 minutes and add the stock, parsley, chiles, carrot and peas (unless they are frozen. If so, add at the last minutes).
4. When the mixture comes to a boil, cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

Dirty Rice

This is a recipe I developed back in the '70's. I have shared it countless times. Everyone seems to enjoy it...I hope you do too. Excellent accompaniment for chicken and pork. My husband and I like it so much that sometimes we have only the Dirty Rice and some veggies for dinner.

Serves 8-10

• 16 Ozs Pork Sausage, Hot, Bulk (I like Jimmy Dean)
• 3 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp Chicken Bouillon
• 1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning, to taste (I like Tony Chacherie's)
  
• 2 1/2 cups white rice, cooked
  

1. Cook rice.
   
2. Chop green onions into ¼” pieces separating tops and bottoms.
   
3. On high heat, sauté sausage, breaking it apart until it looks like loose ground meat. Add bottoms of green onions and cook until meat is cooked through.
4. Add granulated chicken bouillon (or 1/2 lg cube of Knorr's), lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add a small amount of water to prevent drying out.
5. Turn off heat and mix in Creole seasoning (add more or less than 1 Tablespoon to your taste). Add green onion tops and toss in hot meat mixture until just heated through, about 30 seconds.
6. Add cooked rice and mix very well.