Garbanzo beans and olives for the win! That’s what I thought after making my 15-Minute Spanish Chicken, Sausage and Rice Skillet, this week’s recipe for #FoodieFriday. Why? Because I really liked it and so did my youngest daughter. In fact, she liked it so much that she ate a serving last night and also packed some into her lunch container before heading out this morning to her theater group’s rehearsal.
My youngest daughter’s enjoyment of the dish didn’t really come as a surprise to me. It features a nice balance of protein, veggies, and rice that simmers in a tomato-infused base. What’s not to like about that? However, I did wonder if the brightly-colored smoked paprika–which I don’t think I’ve ever used when cooking–would overpower the other ingredients. Fortunately, it didn’t! Instead, it blended well with them and added a unique flavor and aroma to this one-pot meal that I will happily make time and time again for myself and my family. In fact, I’m already looking forward to making it again when my oldest daughter comes home for spring break.
What did surprise me, however, was that I convinced my hubby–who doesn’t like beans or olives–to try the dish. I doubt it will ever be on his list of favorite things to eat, but he did say the dish had a “familiar” taste and that the flavor of the olives were “muted” by the other ingredients, which tasted “good.” Wow! We’ve been married more than 20 years and I’ve never been able to get him to eat olives or beans, let alone say any dish containing them tasted good. So, his comments made me feel as if I’d received a five-star rating from a well-known food critic. I almost feel like Valentine’s Day came two weeks early!
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, this quick dish could be part of a special Valentine’s meal that you make for yourself and your family on the upcoming holiday. And, since the recipe calls for ingredients you may tend to buy from time to time, locating them at your local grocery store should be a breeze. However, if your busy schedule makes it challenging for you to get to the store, remember that you can shop for groceries online using sites like Amazon. Since I am an Amazon associate, if you click on ingredient links in this post and make a purchase, I will receive income on qualifying purchases that support this blog. After perusing the recipe, take a moment to save it to your Pinterest board using the pin I created.
What You’ll Need To Make 15-Minute Spanish Chicken, Sausage and Rice Skillet (Six servings)
*4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil, divided
*8 Ounces of Grilled or Baked Chicken–Use can use leftover chicken or buy frozen, grilled chicken strips as I did.
*4 Chicken Sausage Links, sliced into discs approximately 1/4″ to 1/3″ thick–The sausages should be bun-length links like those that could be served for lunch or dinner.
*4 Cups of Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
*3 Cups of White Rice–I used precooked, frozen rice. You could also use leftover rice or microwaveable rice.
*2 Cups of Chopped Tomatoes–I bought a 26-ounce carton of chopped tomatoes and used approximately 16 ounces of the carton. You could also just use a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes.
*1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into strips or cut into squares
*1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced into strips or cut into squares
*1 Yellow Onion, sliced
*1 Can (15 oz.) or Carton (13 oz.) of Garbanzo Beans
*2 Teaspoons of Smoked Paprika
*2 Teaspoons of Salt
1 Cup of Green Olives, sliced in half–I used plain, ripe Manzanilla olives. See the “Tips and Substitutions” section at the end of this post to see the benefits of using these instead of the stuffed olives that are often used for similar recipes.
15-Minute Spanish Chicken, Sausage and Rice Skillet
1. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, carefully add the chicken to the skillet and sautee it for 2 minutes.
2. Turn up the heat level to high heat. Add the sausage to the skillet and continue cooking the chicken and sausage for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the chicken and sausage from the skillet and set it aside. Pour two more tablespoons of oil in the skillet and then sautee the peppers and onions for 3 minutes over high heat.
4. Add the chicken broth, rice, garbanzo beans and paprika to the skillet.
5. Add the chopped tomato to the skillet.
6. Return the meat to the skillet and stir all of the contents of the skillet together thoroughly. Allow the dish to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed (approximately 9 minutes.)
7. When the dish is almost finished cooking, sprinkle the olives evenly over the top of the other ingredients and stir them all together.
8. Enjoy! I mean, buen provecho!
Tips and Substitutions:
1. The milder, green ripe olives that I used will make this dish more appetizing for individuals who don’t like the salty and briny Manzanilla stuffed olives that are often used in similar recipes.
2. If you like olives, but someone in your family doesn’t, consider replacing them with green capers. Although they have a similar salty flavor, they are less intense (and are easier to hide in dishes than olives).
3. You can make a vegetarian version of this dish by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. You could also replace the meat that I used with an equivalent amount of a plant-based protein, eggplant or portobello mushrooms.
