Chicken and Spicy Mexican Rice

I have to begin by saying, my heart really wasn't in this today. I had hoped for warmer weather to take the dogs to a beach I once found, but now have no recollection of its location. I'd love to find it again though and was hoping today would be the day. However, The Weather had other ideas. When I started this, it was 37° and snowing! I thawed some chicken thighs and decided to cut those up and roast them with some seasoned vegetables. 

1# chicken thigh meat
3 big cloves garlic
1/2 lg. bell pepper
3 stalks of celery
1/3c EVOO
salt, chipotle seasoning, black pepper

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces, slice the vegetables, mince the garlic and combine it all in a favorite pan. Drizzle with EVOO, season and stir with a wooden spoon to coat.

 

Roast in a 375° oven for 20 minutes. Your kitchen will smell heavenly while this is happening! At this point, there will be a lot of liquid in the pan. Shake or stir to coat all the pieces again and raise the heat to 425° for an additional 20 minutes to get everything nicely browned.

Meanwhile rinse 1c of quick cooking whole-grain brown rice well, then soak it in 1c fresh cold water for 20 minutes. Add 1c of juice from a 28oz. can of tomatoes and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 additional minutes. Cool for half an hour, then stir in the following ingredients.

1/4 - 1/3c finely diced jalapeños from a jar

8oz. total of grated sharp cheddar and sour cream

- or - any 8oz. combination of cheese, hard and soft, sharp and mild cheese, or heavy cream

Add the diced tomatoes* and remaining juice, from a 28oz. can, to this mixture then pour it over everything in the pan. Stir once again just enough to combine. Sprinkle with a little grated cheese if you'd like, then return to a 350° oven for about 15 minutes, until everything is bubbly. Serve with a simple green salad as is, or stir in some beans and corn! This turned out well, and in the end I'm glad I had mykitchen time to create this for the next few days. . .Lin

Tuttorosso* . . .These are the best canned tomatoes! The quality and quantity of the tomatoes and the juice are excellent! There are a couple name brands, starting with "H," that I will never buy again. Their juice is watery and the tomato pieces are covered with peelings. Check out Tuttorosso! I'm not sure where I bought mine, but they're available on Amazon if you can't find them in your local grocery store.