Chicken and Rice

I don't know what it is about the dish, maybe because it was a staple in my childhood dinners, and it was a regular left over in my best friends fridge that we ate graciously for off campus lunch in high school. But in my mind, chicken and rice is the epitome of homemaking success. If you are a good home maker, chicken and rice is a regularly on the well planned menu. Of course I don't actually think that's true but part of my subconscious at least, thinks it applies to me.

Cooking has never been my strong suit. Just ask my family. They may bring up the fact that I really only made one meal at home, and it involved ramen noodles, or the time I mistook dough enhancer for flour in a triple batch of cookies (-$$$), and probably even the two separate instances of me dropping the oven mit and running away in panic as a sibling put out the flames and hushed the smoke detector... Let's not get into the egg shell catastrophe!

Despite my failings as a master home meal chef like my mom and sisters, I have always known that depriving my children of the amazingly refreshing taste of "home-made" that I so enjoyed as a child, was not something I was willing to do. So I got to work and Very VERY slowly made progress,  but not without mishaps.
Over the past 5 years of marriage I have attempted the dish (chicken and rice) not one, but three times... And failed miserably, and when I say miserably I mean chewy chicken crunchy rice and clumpy, blahn sauce.
Well ever since we have moved to Alaska I have made significant progress. I started with dishes I was familiar with: pastas, potatoes, pizza. And then I branched out a bit trying at least one new thing each week.
Well, I am happy to say that today I finally decided to take the plunge once again and it turned out PERFECTLY! I know chicken and rice is just a simple dish, you would never find it in a fancy restaurant, but it was the first meal I have made that tasted like home. I felt like my mom was sitting there with me, enjoying my success saying, "I can't wait to try more of your meals, good job".