Chicken Ole
August 28th, 2007 by
Chef Mom
I really wanted this dish to turn out well. I liked the idea of a chicken/rice skillet meal made with broth rather than one of those creamy soups. I also liked the fact that this is a quick cooking recipe. Desperation Dinners promises dinner in 20 minutes flat. Alas, it was not a big hit.
I’m pretty sure Steve hated it. Something about his comment “Jesus, why’d you have to ruin it by putting in green olives?” tipped me off. There were other green olive haters at the table too. Violet picked out everything that even remotely looked green. She had quite a pile on the side of her plate at the end of the meal. Another comment was that the dish was bland - except for the green olives, of course, which ruined everything. Only April liked it - because it was bland.
I may try this dish again (without the green olives) with a few changes. I think replacing the diced tomatoes with Mexican style diced tomatoes might help spice it up a little. Maybe a few extra green chiles as well.
FYI, Steve’s not a big fan of minute rice so I doubled the chicken broth and used regular rice. The rice was cooked perfectly. Too bad it tasted of green olive juice.
Chicken Ole
Desperation Dinners
4 skinless, boneless Chicken breast halves, fresh or frozen
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 extra-large Onion (1 1/2 c chopped)
2 large Green Bell Peppers
1 can (14 3/4 oz) fat-free Chicken Broth
1/2 c White Wine
1 can (14 3/4 oz) diced Tomatoes
2 1/2 c “instant” (5-minute) Rice
1/2 c sliced Pimiento-stuffed Green Olives
1/2 c frozen Green Peas
1 1/2 tsp bottled minced Garlic
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp dried Oregano
1/2 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
If the chicken is frozen, run it under hot water so you can remove any packaging. Place the chicken on a microwave-safe plate and microwave 3 minutes, uncovered, on high, to begin defrosting.
Meanwhile, heat the oil, over medium heat, in an extra-deep 12-in nonstick skillet that has a lid. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop.
Cut each breast into 3 strips about an inch wide, then add the chicken (fresh or partially defrosted) to the skillet and raise the heat to high. Cover the skillet and cook while seeding the bell peppers and cutting them into 1-inch wide strips. Cut the strips crosswise in half, and add the peppers to the skillet all at once.
Add the broth and wine. Cover the skillet and bring the liquid to a boil. Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes. Keeping the pan covered as much as possible, add the drained tomatoes, rice, olives, peas, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
Cook at a rolling boil until the rice is tender, 5 minutes more. Remove the bay leaves, stir well and serve.
Serves 4 generously