Day 1: Cajun Chicken and rice, Pg 180

Confession:

I actually had already started cooking for this like 3 days ago. I just haven't blogged about it. So I cooked this on Wednesday. I know my b. I've just been slightly overwhelmed over the fact that I have to cook and blog about 115 different things this summer. But anyway. here we go. Day 1.

Cajun Chicken and Rice (serves 6)

4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed ( I had six, so I used them all)
4 chicken thighs, skin removed
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning (make sure that you check the ingredients before you buy, a lot of mixes have wheat as a listed ingredient)
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil ( I used olive...)
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 cup uncooked rice (I suggest maybe 1 1/4 cups of rice)
1 med green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 med red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 /4 tsp ground turmeric


pre 1. You should probably remove the skin of your chicken before you do anything else, if you haven't already done so or bought them pre-skinned.
1. preheat the oven to 350. lightly coat a 13x9 inch pan with oil or spray.
2. in a big plate or bowl, sprinkle the chicken with the Cajun seasoning and salt. cover them evenly. Heat oil in a large skillet over a med-high heat while you do this (make sure it doesn't start to smoke!). Add the chicken, cook about 10 mins ( give or take). make sure that the chicken gets browned on all the sides. take the chicken out of the skillet.

(quick note: As I reread the recipe right now writing this, I realize that I did this part a little different, woops. it's OK though, I guess it's not that big of a deal. you can do my version or what I should have done. it's up to you. Oh and what I did different was that I didn't take the chicken out of the skillet. I did the next part with the chicken in it)

3.Add broth to skillet, bring to a boil. scrape any brown bits from the bottom of skillet. add in the rice, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, thyme and turmeric. now pour these things in your 13x9 pan you oiled like forever ago.  (if you took the chicken out of the skillet, you can put it back in now, or if you did like me and didn't pour those babies right in there too. Also, make sure that the rice is evenly distributed in the pan, this would have been way easier if I hadn't put the chicken in at the same time). Cover the pan with foil tightly. Bake one hour or until the chicken is cooked through (165 F)

So I gotta say, this recipe is rockin'. It was AMAZING. I ate way too much of it. I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite meal from now on. It was definitely a great way to start this off. My only complain is that the rice was a bit soggy. delicious. But kinda soggy. I would add a bit more rice next time.

I give this recipe 9.5 yummy stars out of 10. If the rice wasn't soggy, I would have given it an 11.