I was intrigued the other day at the grocery store when I saw arroz amarillo, and thought, let’s try and see what we can make with it.   I picked up a box of the low sodium version and decided to make a one pot meal based off of this saffron infused rice.

Tip:  Whenever possible buy unsalted or low sodium versions of your ingredients so you can control the salt.  That includes butter, I only ever bake and cook with unsalted butter.

Since saffron is about a million dollars a pound (well, it’s super expensive anyway) I thought it a good plan to buy the rice already infused with saffron.  I am afraid this brand may just have yellow dye, as opposed to using actual saffron, but in the end it was a quick dish the family ate, so I am not going to stress about it!  It was an enjoyable and quick mid-week meal, I will shop around for other yellow rices and compare in the future.

Ingredients

1 box of yellow rice

3 small containers of Kitchen Basics unsalted chicken stock

2 tbsp butter

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper and paprika to flavor the chicken

1 small onion

2 large carrots

Handful of frozen peas

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the onion into small dice, peel and chop the carrots using a rolling cut so you have small chunks and then clean and trim the chicken.

Cook the rice per the package instructions, except us 2 boxes of unsalted to stock to cook the rice in, instead of water.  And add the 1 tbsp of butter as well, these two items will impart a lot of flavor into the rice.  While it is simmering, cut them in half the long way to help them cook quicker.  Dry the breasts, then season on both sides with salt, lightly with black pepper and paprika as well.  Cook the chicken breasts in a pan with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, make sure they are cooked through by cutting into the thickest part of the breast and check that they are white in the middle.  Once cooked, let them rest on a plate while you start the vegetables.

Start the other tbsp of butter and 1/2 tbsp of the olive oil warming in a large pot. Once warm, add in the onion and carrots.  Salt lightly, then stir frequently cooking for 8-10 minutes on medium high, so that the carrots are tender.  While they are cooking, cut the chicken into bite sized chunks.

Once the rice is finished, fluff it a bit then add it to the pan of carrots and onions.  Throw in the peas, and another box of the stock.  Cook together for 10 minutes so that the peas are cooked and the chicken is warmed through properly.   Taste and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve immediately!

Best served with a salad or a side of broccoli for extra nutrition