A few years ago my wife’s grandmother gathered recipes from everyone in the family. In some cases the recipes came from family in Michigan. Some of the recipes had even been handed down for several generations. As a gift to my wife, my two sisters-in-law, and my mother-in-law, she organized all the recipes and placed them in binders with page protectors. It was a wonderful gift that is even more dear now that she has passed away. Today’s recipe, Santa Fe Chicken, comes from that book and came from one of my sisters-in-law. It isn’t one of the older recipes in the book but it is one of our favorites. As a matter of fact, when my side of the family gets together at the holidays they ask my wife to fix this meal for one of the evening meals. There are never any left-overs.
Start by cooking your diced up chicken.
Cook it directly in the stock pot that you will be cooking the rest of the meal in. You can use butter or any oil you prefer to cook in (I recommend butter but if you prefer oil, coconut oil is a great healthy oil alternative that won’t degrade from the heat of cooking, unlike EVOO which degrades under high heat). Sprinkle the chicken with the paprika, salt, and pepper. Just a few minutes before the chicken is done, add in the onion and green peppers.
Continue cooking until the chicken is done…
…and the veggies are soft. While the chicken and veggies are cooking, drain the Rotel juice into a measuring cup and add enough chicken broth to make 1-1/2 cups of Rotel juice/chicken broth mixture.
Add the liquid and the Rotel…
…to the pot and bring them to a boil.
Once you reach a boil…..
….stir in the rice, cover, and remove from heat.
Let stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes….
…..mix in cheese, replace the lid, and let sit until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy! Have a great day and God bless!
- 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1-2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp butter or cooking oil of choice
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 can Rotel (use the Hot Rotel for an extra kick)
- 1 14.5 oz can of chicken broth (or your homemade stock is even better)
- 1-1/2 cups of instant rice
- shredded cheese to taste
- Cube chicken and using stock pot or large skillet, heat butter (or oil), and begin cooking the chicken. When the chicken is close to being done, add the onions and bell pepper. Continue cooking until the chicken is done and the veggies are soft. In the meantime, drain the Rotel juice into a measuring cup. Add chicken broth to the Rotel juice to make a total of 1-1/2 cups of the juice mixture. Add the juice mixture and the Rotel to the chicken and bring to a boil. When the juice is boiling, add the rice, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to stand until rice is reconstituted (about 5 minutes). Mix in shredded cheese to taste and recover. Allow to stand a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve and enjoy!
