Chicken and Rice

We usually get a lot of requests for this recipe, so it's moved off What's Cooking Tonight.

Chicken and Yellow Rice
This recipe hasn't changed much in the past 20 years, but it's always a hit. We cheat a bit by using a package of parcooked Spanish yellow rice. You could really speed things along and use leftover chicken, but here's how to start from scratch.
1 3-4 pound chicken cut up
1 large onion, minced
1 bell pepper, minced
1 5-ounce package of Spanish yellow rice

Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 cup
Cheddar cheese, grated
a bit of salt and pepper, to taste

In a stock pot, add the chicken, onion, bell pepper and top with just enough water to cover. Simmer until done, an hour or so.Set the chicken aside to cool (you need to be able to pull the meat off the bones), and save the broth. Cook the rice according to package directions, using the broth in place of water. Put the chicken meat and rice in a 2-quart casserole dish.Make your sauce (in a sauce pan, oddly enough) by melting the butter, stirring in the flour and whisking over low heat. Add the milk and cook, whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken. Add the cheese. Pour this over your chicken and rice. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.Some people top this with crumbled Ritz crackers or bread crumbs.

If you use leftover chicken, make sure you've got a can of chicken broth handy to cook the rice.