One-Pot Meals are your answer to quick and easy weeknight dinners! Let’s admit it even while working from home, weeks are filled with hectic workdays and everyday stress and anxiety. I still don’t know how moms are making it work during such stressful times. Between work, taking care of the kids, and prepping for dinner; you all deserve awards and all of the great things (massages, shopping sprees, and a whole lotta love lol). On days when you need a mom hack, think one-pot meals. It’s simple cooking, easy cleanup, and maximum flavor.

This Locrio de Pollo (One Pot Chicken & Rice) eliminates the need to figure out what sides to cook with your main dish, minimizes the amount of cookware being used, and gives you some time back in your day! It’s time you can use to do all of the things you never have time for: an at-home facial, reading, etc. Look no further, I’ve got you covered!

What else makes this dish so special? It’s one of those dishes that requires a small amount of ingredients and maximizes how far one grocery haul can go. Food insecurity is real and so many families are currently struggling to make ends meet, feed their families, and stay sane. Rice, 2 chicken breasts, and the additional ingredients needed to make this dish allows for a very small cost and can feed up to 8 family members.

What’s Food insecurity? It describes a household's inability to provide enough food for their family to live active and healthy lives. In the United States currently, 1 in 9 people struggle with hunger.

What is "Locrio"?

Locrio is a mixture of rice with meat or vegetables that are typically cooked with tomato paste or annatto to give it a rich color. This rice dish defers from the typical Moro dish that’s typically cooked in Latin Caribbean countries. While Moro is typically prepared with beans, Locrio is prepared with meat, fish, or seafood. There are many types of locrio recipes but the most popular (and my favorite) is definitely Locrio de Pollo. It’s essentially Arroz con Pollo but ala Dominican lol. I used chicken breasts in my version but using chicken thigs or a whole cut-up chicken is also an option.

This dish is magic and can be made with a variety of proteins like pork, red meat, sausage (vegan sausage included), and even herring! So feel free to get creative with your protein of choice. For this particular dish, the chicken is seasoned and then caramelized in sugar. Similar to how you would cook brown stewed chicken. Then, other ingredients like onions, peppers, and tomato paste are added along with the rice to create a one-pot dish that’s sure to comfort the soul. This dish is the epitome of working smarter and not harder.

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2.5 cups of white rice, washed and drained
3.5 cups of water
1 tablespoon of Home Beis Tradicional blend or sazon seasoning packet
1 tablespoon of Homemade Sazon
1/2 teaspoon of low sodium soy sauce
A quarter of a medium onion, diced
A quarter of red bell pepper, diced
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar
1 red chili pepper, whole (optional)
1 teaspoon of granulated or half of a cube of chicken bouillon
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 Culantro leaves (optional)
1 tablespoon of oil, for cooking

Directions:

First, we season our chicken (or protein, if you’re using an alternative) with the Home Beis Tradicional blend, soy sauce, oregano, and Homemade Sazon. Combine until chicken is seasoned.

Now we make magic and combine all of our flavors. In a deep pot, heat a tablespoon of oil on medium to high heat. Add sugar and carmelize. The sugar should be a medium brown color. Pay attention to the sugar as this is a crucial step and not paying attention could result in burnt sugar. Once caramelized, add in your seasoned chicken chunks and combine until the chicken is coated in the caramelized sugar.

Next, add in your onions, peppers, chili pepper (if using), and tomato paste. Mix until combined and saute for 1 minute.

Then, add in your washed rice, water, and chicken bouillon. This is the best time to check for salt. Taste the cooking liquid and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until combined. Cook the rice in the cooking liquid until the cooking liquid has cooked out. Once that occurs, bring the heat down to low, place your Culantro leaves on top of the rice and cover your pot. Cook rice for 20-25 minutes covered without opening. The steam interruption will put a pause on cooking time and may interfere with the best results.