10.31.2010

Chicken Burritos

Since today is Halloween a simple easy dinner is in order. I will be busy painting faces, doing hair, sewing kids into costumes and passing out candy - I am too busy to worry about dinner.  Therefore I am starting dinner in the early afternoon! This dinner can be (and actually should be) started earlier in the day. The longer is cooks, the tastier it gets. I must give credit to my sister-in-law Aubrey for this delicious recipe. Plus it makes the whole house smell delicious, it is one of those recipes that you can smell as you are walking up to the front door!


1 large jar of Pace Picante Sauce - medium, reserve 1 cup  ** (DON'T try a different salsa or your    own homemade salsa or the Pace salsa. I am well aware that Pace is not the most delicious sauce out there but for this recipe it is the ONLY one that works - trust me.)
4 chicken breasts
2 cups dry white rice
3 cups chicken broth
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
flour tortillas (burrito size)
Shredded Cheese
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Sour Cream
Olives
Salsa

In a large stock pot add the chicken breast and the bottle of pace (minus the one cup reserved) and enough water to cover the chicken. Simmer on Med-Low for as long as you have time for (1 hour minimum up to 4-5 hours) just remember to keep checking on it and filling it with water if needed. If the sauce starts to get too thick it will burn. The longer you let the chicken simmer, the tastier it will be and the better at shredding it will be. When you are getting ready for dinner let the water cook down so you have a thicker sauce left (just be careful not to burn it!)

About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat:
Start the rice:In a blender or food processor puree the remaining salsa (or if you like the chunks - you can skip this step) add it to a stock pot with the chicken broth, turn up to high heat and let it come to a boil. Meanwhile, in a saute pan, heat about 1 tsp of Olive oil. Add in the rice and a dash of garlic salt. Saute until some of the rice is a golden brown color and all the rest are opaque white. Add the rice to the boiling liquid (carefully because the hot rice can cause the liquid to boil over the edge of the stock pot). Turn down to low heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Shred the chicken, adding a little extra sauce to keep it moist and tasty.

Assemble the burritos: rice, chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, olives, salsa..... They get pretty big - so be careful!

Makes LOTS!