Sunday, January 17, 2010

Saffron Chicken

I made a resolution to cook more this year. Trying to do a new meal each Saturday night. Tonight's meal was Saffron Chicken with Rice and it was INSANELY good. Only took about one hour to make which was much more my speed! I highly recommend it.


Brown Chicken...
Saffron is NOT cheap! But boy do I find it delicious!

Garlic, Yellow Onion, Red Bell Pepper...


Sherry, Chicken Broth..


Tomatoes and Green Olives & Rice...

Heaven!!!

Ingredients:
  • 3 1/2 lb. chicken thighs and drumsticks
  • Salt, to taste, plus 1 1/4 tsp.
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
  • 1/4 tsp. crumbled saffron
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup dry sherry
  • 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes with juices
  • 3 cups medium-grain rice
  • 1/2 cup green olives, pitted and halved
  • 1 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350°F.

Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. Discard the fat in the pot, then wipe out the pot with paper towels.

In the same pot over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, saffron and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the sherry and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add the chicken, broth, tomatoes and their juices and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Stir in the rice, olives, the 1 1/4 tsp. salt and black pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through the cooking time.

Remove the pot from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the chicken with the parsley and serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Our Little Monsters

Today we had Kellen and Shannon over for a play date. Shannon and I had a really nice time curling up and drinking tea and catching up while the monsters played.

Kellen is much better behaved than Annie. Whatever Kellen had, Annie wanted. Kellen, being the gentleman that he is, let her just take it. Mommy on the other hand was not so tolerant.

The one thing Kellen held his ground on? Sitting in Annie's little chair. He found it to be quite comfortable and had no plans to leave it. We did reach a compromise where he sat on the arm while Annie sat in the seat. As you can see from the look on my daughters face, only Kellen was pleased with this arrangement.

It's so great to see that as they get older their gap in age is narrowing. Shannon and I are looking forward to many more Sunday play dates!





Time for a water break!








My monster being grabby....

Kids Rockclimbing