Arroz con Pollo con Salsa de Mani ~ Chicken and Rice with Peanut Sauce! #EnergyToBurn

Disclosure: This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and The National Peanut Board.

Peanuts. What can you say about them? I love them. I eat them. I think they are good for me. I always have peanuts in my house as a quick snack. I eat peanut butter at least 4 times a week.

Besides being such a great food, peanuts have 7 grams of protein per serving. Coupled with their more than 30 essential vitamins and nutrients, peanuts are considered a Superfood. Peanuts and peanut butter provide lasting energy and are a smart addition to your diet any time of the day. It's also an affordable source of protein and really convenient.

I love peanut butter in sandwiches and also in my smoothies. It gives me an added source of protein and gives me energy to get  through the day. In the late afternoons, you can find me sneaking in some peanut butter to keep me going until dinnertime.

When I was asked to rework a family recipe by the National Peanut Board for Hispanic Heritage Month. I was excited to see what I would come up with. You may or may not know this but peanuts originated in South America and are used in many Latin foods.

I thought long and hard and decided that I would do a twist on Arroz con Pollo (rice and chicken).

When we were little, one of the biggest treats we got was to spend the weekend sleeping over our abuelita's house. We loved visiting her because she was always telling us stories about when she was a child. She would also tell us ghost stories.

The best part of these sleepovers though were that she would cook for us. She would make us the yummist food ever. She made us empanadas, rice and eggs, arroz con pollo, gallo pinto, pork chops and olla de carne (Costa Rican typical soup). One of my favorite dishes was Arroz con Pollo.

I figured the peanuts would work well with the chicken and rice. I completely reworked the recipe to make it a little healthier and lighter but it still had a lot of flavor. First, I switched out the thighs my abuela used and I used chicken breast. Then I made white rice with peas and carrots instead of making yellow rice. Then I made a delicious peanut sauce to coat the chicken. Here is how I made my recipe:

I made some white rice.

I browned some chicken breasts. 

Once the rice was almost done, I added some peas and carrots. 

I added the peanut sauce (recipe below) to the chicken.

I topped the chicken with crushed peanuts. Yum! I served the chicken over the rice. 

I have to admit that the recipe for the peanut sauce is what I remember using. I usually don't follow recipes and cook by taste but you can adjust the ingredients.

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
a splash of soy sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

This is actually a quick and easy recipe that anyone can make. And it was delicious. It was also a meal that took about 30 minutes. So if you are in a rush and juggling work, kids and home, you can easily make this dish! Plus it offers you that peanut energy we all need!

For more yummy recipes and information on peanuts, you can follow the national Peanut Board on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest!

Buen Provecho!