Yesterday I had a pretty bad case of The Mondays by 5:00. After a day full of meetings that lasted entirely too long, I decided it was going to a cereal for dinner kind of night. And then I remembered:

I actually like to cook.

For me, cooking is sort of therapeutic: I get in the zone and get out of my head for a little bit. It’s a creative outlet for me, too, which means not only can I forget about the crappy parts of the day, but it forces me to focus on what I am creating.

So after deciding to break my “no wine on Monday night” rule, I opened the fridge and the pantry and took a look around. What can I make? I selected the following ingredients from the arsenal:

Boneless skinless chicken thighs, basmati rice, canned diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and olives. And this is what I came up with:

One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice

Boneless skinless chicken thighs
½ cup chopped sweet yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 cups basmati rice
1 ½ cups white wine
1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
1 cup of green olives, halved
Parsley

Heat the olive oil in an enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven (it needs a lid). Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken to make it brown and crispy on both sides, then remove to a plate to rest. Add the onion to the pot and brown. Stir in the rice and toast with the onion, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick or begin to burn. Add the spices to the rice, followed by the wine, broth, and tomatoes. Put the lid on the pot, and place it in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. After removing from the oven, stir in the olives and sprinkle with chopped parsley.