Spanish Chicken

Spanish Chicken is a recipe that Mom made often when we were kids.  It's a family favorite and we always knew when we saw that big, glass bottle of Heinz Ketchup that we'd soon be eating Spanish Chicken for dinner! 

Although, I've made Spanish Chicken  many times over the past several years, I'm just getting around to sharing it with you now.  You see, this dish isn't really a recipe, it's more of a throw-it-together sort of meal. 

When I threw it together on Saturday, I wrote down the ingredients and measurements as I went along.  I'm a little fuzzy on the cooking times, so you'll have to use your judgement on that. 

Spanish Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. bone-in split chicken breast, most of the skin removed
• 2 qts. water
• 3 c. ketchup
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1-2 onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash
• 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

• Place chicken in a large pot, top with sliced vegetables and seasonings.
• In a seperate bowl (I usually use a clear bowl or measuring cup), mix together the ketchup and water.
• Pour ketchup/water mixture over the chicken and vegetables. 
• Bring to boil over medium-high heat. 
• After 10 minutes, reduce heat to low and cover. 
• Allow to simmer until chicken starts to pull away from the bone easily.  (about an hour?)
• With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove chicken from the pot and put into a bowl. 
• Once it's cool enough to handle, start removing the meat from the bones in large chunks.
• When finished, shred slightly.  Not too much, they'll still break down while cooking further.
• This is a good time to taste the sauce and adjust to your liking. 
• Add chicken back to the sauce and continue to simmer, covered for another couple of hours. 
• Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes.

Notes:

• Mom usually made Spanish Chicken using legs and thighs.  We prefer the chicken breasts. 
• Don't be tempted to use boneless chicken breasts.  You need the flavor from those bones to mix with the ketchup and water.  Trust me!  A few years ago, Joe kept insisting that this would be so much easier (and better) using boneless chicken.  I kept telling him no, but gave in and made it without the bones.  It was good, but he did admit that it's much better with the bone-in chicken. 
• You could certainly skip picking the chicken from the bones, if you like.  But I prefer to remove the bones, since as it cooks further, the chicken starts to fall apart making it more difficult to fish the bones out!
• Don't forget to taste the sauce before you add the cooked chicken back to the pot.  And adjust the seasoning as needed.  I originally started with 2 cups of ketchup but after tasting it, I realized it needed a bit more. 
• I usually add a bay leaf and some sun-dried tomatoes to the pot, but we were all out of both this time.
• This is a good clean out the fridge recipe.  In the past, I've added half a can of diced tomatoes that were left from another recipe. Or a couple tablespoons of tomato paste that was left in the fridge.  Add what you like. 
• Mom always served this with potatoes.  Either mashed or buttered.  That's the way I like it.  Joe prefers this with rice.  So, I usually make both.  I was short on time so I only made rice this time.  We're having the leftovers tonight, so I'll be making it with potatoes. :)

I'm sharing this recipe with the following blog carnivals:

• Penny Pinching Party Wednesdays
• Delicious Dishes
• Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
• Pennywise Platter
• Tip Day Thursday
• Frugal Food Thursday
• It's a Keeper Thursday
• Hookin' up With HoH
• I'm Lovin' It
• Fat Camp Friday
• Food On Fridays
• Foodie Friday