Guatemalan Recipes

A few people asked for the recipes that I made for our Family Day dinner last night. So, here you go:

Guatemalan Chicken with Pineapple (Pollo en Pina)

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
3-3 1/2 lbs broiler-fryer chickens, in pieces
1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pineapple, cut in 1 inch cubes or 1 (20 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 dash pepper
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
hot cooked rice (can cook concurrently so all is ready at the same time)

Heat oil in lg skillet; cook chicken on med heat until brown on all sides-- approx 15 min.
Remove chicken, cook onion& garlic in remaining oil until onion is tender, stirring frequently.
Return chicken to skillet.
Mix all remaining ingredients except tomatoes (and rice!); pour over chicken.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 min.
Add tomatoes; simmer, uncovered, until thickest pieces of chicken are cooked through-- approx 20 min.
Serve with rice.

My notes for this recipe:

I used fresh pineapple - yummmmy

I had seen other versions of the recipe that didn't have you brown the chicken or anything, just throw it all in a pot and simmer. And they called for more liquid. I knew the chicken needed to stew and the liquid called for above wouldn't be enough. So, I used a good bit more of the vinegar and sherry and added some chicken stock until the chicken was mostly covered. I also moved everything into a stock pot since a skillet really isn't big enough for a whole chicken cut up.

*************************************************************

Arroz Guatemalteco

2 cups rice

2 TBL peanut oil( I used olive oil)
1 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, celery, sweet red peppers and peas)

4 cups chicken or beef stock
Saute rice in oil, until rice has absorbed the oil but has not changed color. Add vegetable, salt and pepper, and 4 cups of stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until liquid has been absorbed about twenty minutes.

NOTE: I found there was a bit too much liquid in the rice, so maybe use about 1/4 cup less of the stock. Also, I would recommend using stock, not broth as it is richer. It is usually in a cardboard box vs. a can in the same section of the grocery store.

For the plantains, I always just buy the frozen Goya ones. They are 100% as good as if you fry them up yourself and a whole lot less messy as you just microwave them!

There are some more great sounding recipes here:

http://www.mayantraditions.com/Free_Guatemalan_Recipes_s/35.htm

*******************************************************************************

And here are a couple of pics from today. We went to a park and met up with some families that are part of our local international adoption group. Gabriella had a blast running around. For the first time, she got to climb up on some stuff and go down a slide. She's got some work in the dexterity and depth-perception department, but as the weather breaks around here, we'll be visiting parks a lot more often and that should help. She missed her morning nap and all that running around must have worn her out. She slept for 3 1/2 hrs this afternoon and didn't get up until 6:15. I really thought she wouldn't go to bed when I put her down. Much to my surprise, she went right to sleep at 8:15. That was one tired girl!