visitor and a recipe

Early last week we got a very pleasant surprise in our mail. Flat Stanley has returned for another visit! We love Flat Stanley. He is part of a school project my "niece's" school does every year. He came to visit last year and we took him all over the place. I only hope I can do as good a job this year for her. I mean I may only be an honorary Auntie but I still want her project to be the coolest in class! Hahaha!

Last night I accidentally made a pretty darn good dinner. It was one of those things where I had a handful of ingredients but wasn't too sure how it was going to all come together. Luckily it was a winner with everyone so I'm filing it away in the keep side of things. Since it was such a success I thought I would share it as my first recipe with everyone. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of it since I wasn't expecting too much so use your imagination to picture it. Besides, I am sure there are many variations of something similar out there. But here it is anyhow....................

Oven Baked Chicken and Rice

6-8 chicken thighs (mine had bone in but you can do with out as well)

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 14.5 oz can chicken broth

1 14.5 oz can mexican style stewed tomatoes

salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and chili powder on both sides. Brown chicken in skillet 4-5 minutes per side or until golden on outside. In the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish combine rice, chicken broth and tomatoes. Lay browned chicken pieces on top and cover tightly with foil. Bake in oven approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour until chicken is cooked and rice is tender.

Easy right? I was afraid my liquid to rice ratio wasn't going to work out but it made the rice very tender and flavorful. It was wetter than regular rice cooked on the stovetop but it still held together. The flavor was fantastic and I might give just the rice with broth, tomatoes and seasonings a go one night to accompany tacos or enchiladas or the like. Anyhow, if anyone tries it, give me a shout and let me know how it worked out or what adjustments you made.

As for recipes given to me, so far Shawn is the only one who has sent me anything and I have every intention of trying his out in another week. Ty turns 21 on March 3rd so I am going to make Shawn's Jello with a Kick for the party. I will make sure to take pictures as I go since it will be a do ahead kind of recipe for sure. I can't wait to try it out!