Roasted Chicken Breasts & Spanish Rice in the Dutch Oven--Easy!

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Fall is here and it's time to change directions a bit on cooking. While we can still grill outside, a chilly Sunday got us thinking about a one-pot Dutch oven dish.

I love chicken breasts with the bone in. Not only are they cheaper than boneless, $.99 a pound compared to 3 or 4 times that, but they hold moisture better.

What I used in this recipe:
2 chicken breasts, bone in
2 T olive oil
1 c BBQ sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
1 t cumin
1 t chopped hot pepper--I used a hot Serbian pepper
1 c rice
2 c water

Start by browning the chicken breasts in a Dutch oven in 2 T olive oil.

While the chicken breasts brown, add the BBQ sauce to a saucepan. I used BBQ sauce that we made a few weeks ago but any thick sauce will do. To the sauce, add green pepper and onion, cumin and diced hot pepper (or pepper flakes). Bring this mixture just to a simmer.

Baste 1/2 of the barbecue sauce mixture on the chicken breasts in the Dutch oven. Then add the rice and water and the rest of the BBQ sauce, stir, covered and put into a 350 degree oven.

Rice takes about 20-25 minutes to cook but these breasts don't need that much time since they are browned first. So bake the breasts and Spanish rice for 10 minutes and then turn off the oven and leave the Dutch oven in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. The rice will continue to cook.

That's it! A one pot chicken and Spanish rice meal with great flavors and the total preparation time is less than 10 minutes.