Arroz con Pollo (Recipe 3 of 150)

This recipe started out good, but I couldn't help myself. I modified it pretty significantly to fit my way of cooking. See, I have an issue with cooking rice on the stove. I can never cook it so it turns out right. It always turns out mushy and gross. 

So to avoid that situation, I cooked the rice in the rice cooker. I put the chicken stock into the rice cooker. I didn't have saffron (which I thought I had), so it didn't feel like it mattered much.

I sautéed the chicken, then the onions. Then I deglazed with the wine and a little chicken stock. I let that cook down quite a bit. I also don't like tomatoes in things. I like canned tomatoes just fine, but not fresh tomatoes in hot dishes (don't ask me why cuz I couldn't tell you). So I put in a half of a can of diced tomatoes without the sauce. 

Once the rice was done, I dropped it and the green olives into the chicken mixture. The result was delicious. 

So you see, while I started with this perfectly find Martha Stewart recipe, I really didn't follow it at all. But since I made up this recipe as I went along, I am counting it. 

Oh and it was fantastic. I'm writing all this down so I can try it again. And in case you like following real recipes, here's the Martha Stewart recipe. I added my changes to the ingredients below.

Arroz con Pollo

Recipe from Martha Stewart

1 c dry white wine

Pinch of saffron

6 chicken thighs (6 ounces each) (I used chicken breast)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 T minced garlic (2 to 3 cloves)

1 large tomato, diced (I used 1/2 can diced tomatoes)

2 dried bay leaves (oops, totally forgot these)

4 1/2 c chicken stock, plus more if needed

3 c short-grain rice, preferably Valencia

1 c pimiento-stuffed green olives

Combine wine and saffron; let stand until ready to use. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, skin side down, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip, and cook until golden brown, 2 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium, and cook onion and garlic, stirring often, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add tomato, and cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes. Stir in wine-saffron mixture, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the bay leaves. Cook until wine is almost completely evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Add chicken, stock, rice, and olives; bring to a simmer.

Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, stirring halfway through, until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. (If rice is not done, add more stock, 1/4 cup at a time.) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper.