On the Menu: Chicken Nopales

Do you guys have distinct childhood food memories? Scratch that. Of course you do. My mom was a perfect cook - she made inventive food, fun food, experimental food, kid-friendly food, and a ton of desserts. The year she got her ice cream/frozen yogurt maker was a good one. I have a lot of fond memories of my Dad's cooking as well - fried rice and perfect sourdough pancakes, beef stew and one-pot dishes like stir fries that were not always as well received as Mom's cooking (but in hindsight, I bet they were delicious). One dish I recently remembered was my parents' pork nopales - a simple dish over rice that relied on the simple flavor of cactus. I started craving the taste, picturing eating it at the family dinner table and so I had to make some in our home! It's fun to think that someday (if I can get any better at cooking in the next 10 years or so, finger's crossed), someone might remember my food as that taste of home! I just made some tonight and thought I'd give you the (very) easy recipe!

Chicken Nopales

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic

1 onion, chopped

2 chicken breasts cubed (equally good alternative: pork)

Dash of paprika

Ground black pepper

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 jar of nopales (e.g. Dona Maria) and reserve 1/4 c. juice

2 c. white rice

Heat olive oil and garlic in a saucepan on medium until aromatic. Chop onions and add to the pan, saute until soft about 5-8 minutes. Add cubed chicken to the pan and brown with a dash of paprika and ground black pepper. When browned, add 1/4-1/2 c. chicken broth and 1/4 c. juice from nopales jar. Note that the nopales have a distinct flavor and the juice adds an equally distinct taste. Start with 1/4 c. and add more as needed. Let simmer until chicken is fully cooked (under 20 minutes). Cook two cups of rice and serve the chicken over rice with hot sauce (if desired).

While you're cooking - make sure you enter the $50 Anthropologie giveaway sponsored by Nina and myself here and the $75 Anthropologie giveaway I'm co-sponsoring with some other lovely ladies on Jade and Oak.