"Skinny" Arroz con Pollo - Make 1, Freeze 1

The first time I ever had Arroz con Pollo was in New Zealand!  A very unlikely place to be sure, but a good friend of ours who is of Cuban descent made it for us one night I discovered that it was the most flavorful, easy one-pot meal I'd ever had. I snatched up the recipe and changed a few things around to make it my own.

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Now that I'm on Weight Watchers, I tweaked it even further, removing the oils and butter and adding in lots of veggies.  The result is all the taste of traditional Arroz con Pollo, but none of the "brick in your stomach" after you eat it!


Ingredients:
4 Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into strips
1 Onion, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
6 Garlic Cloves, diced
4 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Light Beer or 1/2 Cup Dry Sherry + 1/2 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables (I use carrots, broccoli & cauliflower)
1 Bag Frozen Peas
1/4-1/2 Cup Green Pimento Olives (or to taste)
3 Tablespoons Goya Adobo Seasoning*
1 Cup Cilantro (or to taste), chopped
1 Cup Ketchup
3 Cups Instant Rice

*If you don't have access to Goya Adobo Seasoning, you can make your own by combining 1 Tablespoon of each of the following:  Lemon Pepper, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Salt, Oregano, Parsley.

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In a large pot, add all of the ingredients except the rice and half of the cilantro.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the rice and cover the pot with a lid.  Bring the mixture back up to a boil, then turn off the heat.  Allow the mixture sit, covered for 30 minutes.  Resist the temptation to open the lid and stir during this time!  The rice will soak up all of those delicious flavors while it sits!  When you're ready to serve, gently stir in the other half of the cilantro.  Serves 12 People.

Here's the best part - you can also freeze it and it will come out just as delish!  I simply put my leftovers in a doubled freezer bag.  When I'm ready to have it for dinner again in a couple of weeks, I'll take it out the night before and let it defrost in the refrigerator.  Microwave in a large bowl and serve!  This would be a great go-to meal if you're having house guests for the upcoming holidays!

I put this recipe in my Weight Watcher's Points Calculator, and it came out to only 5 Points for 1 Cup! Not too shabby, especially if served with a side salad or another helping of broccoli.  I can tell you, though, that I was full..I mean really full...on 1.5 Cups!  You could probably bring the Points value down even further if you used brown rice, too - that instant rice has a high points value.

You know you want some!

The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

There are a lot of ingredients in this one - many of which are from The Pantry, so I did a rough estimate including the fresh ingredients and it came out to about $9.00 Total, which serves 12 people.

Total Fake-It Cost:  $0.75 Per Person


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