Arroz con Gandules (Rice & Pigeon Peas)

My mother in law makes this all the time. I thought I would try to make it and it's not as hard as it looks. This recipe was a little off (or maybe just my stove heat wasn't matching with the Goya's kitchens) but the end result after a little tweaking was that this rice is good!

Here is the recipe I got off the Goya website:
(I tweaked mine just a little)

Arroz con Gandules (Rice & Pigeon Peas)

Ingredients:
1 lb. pork, in ½ inch cubes (I used pork sausage already seasoned)
2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup white onion, finely diced
½ cup green pepper, finely diced
1 tsp. Minced Garlic or 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Goya Recaito (I didn't have this so I left it out)
½ tsp. Oregano
½ cup Tomato Sauce
1 packet Sazón Goya with Coriander and Annatto
1 can Green Pigeon Peas, undrained (15 oz.)
0.333 cup Pitted Alcaparrado, sliced ( I left mine whole..easier for my kids to pick out)

2 cups water

2 cups Goya Medium Grain Rice

Directions:

1. In caldero or large deep skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Stir in pork and cook until lightly browned about 15 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium, stir in onion, pepper and garlic and cook until lightly browned about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in oregano and tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
5. Stir in Sazón, pigeon peas, Alcaparrado olives and water and bring to boil. Stir in rice, return to boil, cover, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir and turn rice from bottom up, cover and continue to cook on low about 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

(I added more water and cooked longer to get rice to a nice tender consistency)

My Perfect White Rice

Being that my husband is of Latin decent we have rice a lot (except when he low carbs). This means, I have had a lot of experience and practice with making my own version of perfect white rice (shown to me by my Panamanian mother in law). If you have a pot like mine that doesn't have a tight fitting lid (my lid is a little bent and it lets all the steam escape) then the trick is to use a towel between the lid and pot. If you have a great, tight fitting lid then a towel is not needed. Here is a pic of how the towel looks on the pot. If you have to do this, make sure to wrap the towel up around the lid because you don't want your towel to catch fire.

Ingredients:
* 2 cups White Rice
* 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 4 cups water

Recipe:

Heat a heavy pan, add oil and garlic until you can just smell the garlic. Add rice and stir until all pieces of rice become shiny with the oil. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Once rice comes to a boil, stir and place lid on pan. Do not lift lid to check on rice! Rice should be ready in about 20-25 minutes and should have little holes on the top (as if someone poked holes in the top of the rice). Serve and enjoy!




YUM!!!!