Aaron's Chicken with Rice and Beans

I know April showers bring May flowers, but...it's been raining all freaking day. Yuck. On days like these, the only thing I want to do is stay home and be lazy. And, maybe eat something simple and tasty. My friend Aaron's chicken and rice/beans dish is just that: no frills, super tasty. He made it for his housewarming party a few weeks back, and it's been on my mind ever since. I don't even like beans, but I was loving them in his chicken and rice! After some wheedling and cajoling, I finally convinced him to give me the recipe. And, because I am a great person, I am sharing it here with you, with some minor adjustments. Enjoy!

Aaron's Chicken with Rice and Beans

Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 can of tomato sauce (Not pasta sauce. Tomato sauce...from a can.)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup red onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup Adobo spice
- 1 cup red beans, uncooked

Steps:
(1) Soak beans in water, 1 hour. Set aside.
(2) Throw chicken breasts, garlic cloves, onions, and Adobo spice into a pot. Cover with chicken broth and tomato sauce. Simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
(3) About 30 minutes into simmering, add red beans to the pot. Continue simmering.
(4) While the chicken is cooking, start cooking some rice. (I just use my rice cooker...I don't even begin to know how to cook rice on a pot.)
(5) The chicken is done when you can easily pull the meat apart. The chicken/tomato sauce should have also cooked down into a thick paste. Pull the chicken out of the sauce and shred the meat.
(6) Dump cooked rice into the pot with the saucy chicken, and mix well. Eat while hot.

One year ago: Simple Artisanal Bread

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

Thanks to Southern night with the Summer Supper Club, I'm getting my second guest blog. This post is courtesy of my good friend Karen, who made slow-cooked pulled pork for our feast. I'm writing the post on her behalf, because she is too busy with bar review class to type it all out (technically, I am too, but...whatever!), but all pictures were taken with her camera.

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Karen and I met in our first year of law school. In the three years that I've known her, she has repeatedly insisted that she can't cook. She swears up and down that all she is capable of making is chili and jello, and given the choice between chopping some vegetables to make a sandwich at home or trekking to Safeway for one of their pre-made American subs, she'll go to Safeway every time. Yet somehow, when Southern night rolled around, she showed up with a pot of delicious, juicy, home-made, slow cooked pulled pork. Interesting.

Apparently she doesn't consider rubbing meat with spices, wrapping it up for a couple hours, then leaving it in a slow cooker for 8 hours to be cooking. It is, Karen...it is. 

And when you decide to tweak a recipe by substituting 1/2 cup apple juice + 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar for water, because you remembered that's how your dad always made it back in the day? Definitely cooking. And lets face it: you're good at it. Say it with me, Karen: "I am a good cook."

Karen's pork was, of course, delicious. Juicy, tender, and flavorful. A little sweeter than I'm used to, probably because she cut back on the salt and cooked the meat in apple juice. Still, very tasty and thoroughly enjoyed by the other members of the Summer Supper Club. 

Recipe courtesy of Bridget at the Crumbly Cookie.