Arroz con Pollo!

A couple nights ago I made Arroz con Pollo for dinner.  Arroz con Pollo is simply rice with chicken in Spanish.  This is a common dish in Latin countries, and I'm sure there are probably a million ways to make it.  Some people make it very spicy hot, while others make it a little milder.  I don't make mine spicy at all because my children won't eat it if I did.  Some people might add vegetables to theirs, such as peas or carrots.  I prefer not to.  This is my version, and my family LOVES it! :

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (or a package of thighs or breasts...whichever you prefer.)
1 1/2 cups of rice
2  -8 oz. cans of tomato sauce
2 tbsp of onion powder (or fresh onion if you prefer.)
2 tbsp of garlic powder
Salt to taste
Tortillas (corn or flour...although we prefer corn tortillas with this dish!)

Sour Cream (optional)
Pickled sliced jalapeno peppers (optional)


Instructions:
Rinse your chicken and put it to boil.  I left mine boiling for about 1 1/2 hours.

When the chicken is almost finished boiling, I started browning my rice.  I set the burner on medium.

When my rice is browning, I took the chicken out of the pan and placed it on a large shallow pan to cool. 
(If you prefer your chicken pieces whole, skip this step and leave your chicken in the pan.)

I removed all of the broth from the pan except for about 3 cups and just put it aside in a pitcher.

 See the rice browning nicely?

 When you are finished browning the rice, shut the burner off and add the spices, plus one can of tomato sauce and stir it up.

 Then you pour the rice into the broth you left in the first pan.

 Add the second can of tomato sauce and 6 cups of water and stir well.

 I removed the skin and bones off of the chicken. (This is optional..if you prefer to leave your chicken pieces whole, that is fine also.  I prefer to do this because my kids always  take 2 bites out of their chicken and throw more than half of their chicken away!)

 I then placed my skinless, boneless chicken into the pan with the rice and stirred once more.  Set your burner(s) on low.  Cover the pan and leave the steam slot open, or place the lid slightly "off" so that the steam can escape.  Now, you just need the rice to finish cooking, about 25 minutes.  Don't stir it anymore because the rice will be sticky.

 When it is finished cooking, you start warming up your tortillas.

 We like to eat Arroz con Pollo with beans, pickled jalapenos, sour cream right on top of the Arroz con Pollo, corn tortillas and of course....a HUGE glass of sweet iced tea..... YUMMMO!!  (:

 Have you ever eaten Arroz con Pollo?  If you haven't, I recommend you do! (:

Happy Friday!