Arroz Con Pollo

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb hot italian sausage
1 lg green pepper, chopped
1 lg red pepper, chopped
1 tbs garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion, chopped
1 pkg yellow rice or saffron rice, family sized
salt & pepper
hot sauce
good grade olive oil

Coat the bottom of a large fry pan or saute pan with olive oil. Over med high heat, saute garlic and onion in the oil until tender but not browned.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1.5" chunks. Remove the sausage from its casings and crumble into small pieces. Add the chicken and sausage to the garlic and onion mixture; salt and pepper to taste. Saute the mixture, stirring frequently.

When the meats are almost cooked through, add the chopped pepper and continue to saute until done.

Add the rice and any packaged seasonings to the mixture and stir. Add water (according to package directions) and hot sauce to taste and stir.

Cover and simmer until water is absorbed, approx. 25 minutes or according to package directions.

Fluff with fork and serve.

Chorizo can be substituted for the Italian sausage.
Frozen peas may be used instead of the pepper. If so, add them when the rice and water is added to the pan.

Chicken Pot Pie

There's nothing like comfort food! And you can take comfort making this recipe since it's nearly impossible to mess up. Consider the proportions I have below as a guideline, and vary based on how hearty you want it (by increasing the ratio of chicken:vegetables) or what vegetables you like/already have in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast
Vegetables and herbs for chicken stock (whatever you have on hand)
1 cup diced carrots (3-4 large carrots)
1/2 cup diced celery (2-3 celery stalks)
1/2-3/4 cup frozen vegetables (peas, corn, etc.)
2 (10 oz) cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup chicken broth combined with 2 tablespoons flour
2 frozen pie shells

Poach chicken:

Salt and pepper chicken, gently pat chicken to secure salt and pepper and add to a stock pot with 3-4 cups water. Add vegetables and herbs for the stock. This is just to help season the chicken and I've found many things that work well. Classic stock includes a couple carrots and celery stalks, cut into 4-5 inch pieces, and an onion, quartered. I also like adding bunches of any fresh herbs I have on hand, like parsley or rosemary.

Bring water to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 min, until chicken is fully cooked and tender. Remove chicken and let cool. Discard stock. Using 2 forks, shred chicken.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Add shredded chicken and vegetables to 9x11 baking pan. Add soup and broth mixture and mix well.

Allow pie shells to thaw till pliable. Flatten dough and place on top of chicken mixture, fashioning so that dough extends to the edges of the pan. Ensure there are air holes in the top of dough.

Bake for 35 minutes until golden. (Cover pie edge if it begins to brown too quickly).