Paella, Paella, Paella

A delicious hearty meal, with a Spanish flare.

I've mentioned one of my favourite restaurants in White Rock here before, #Ulis. This was where I learned to love Paella... for real! There is something about the abundance of seafood and spicy chorizo and chicken over tomato filled rice and the slightest hint of saffron, that is beyond words! Being in self isolation means not going for dinner (hope you and your staff are doing okay? #Ulis) But the typical reason why I have chosen to do an impromtu dinner out, is because I think of something delicious, I think of where I have enjoyed eating it... and if the moment doesn't pass... Well I guess we are splurging for dinner out! But curses.... that doesn't curently work.... So lets make it!

Definitely not "traditional" but my kids like plain rice... so I cooked the rice separately and for this dish added it to the sauce once cooked. I'm a mom that makes different kid meals for the C2's than what we eat... the eldest C2 will experiment more so I have faith their tastebuds will mature!

For the chicken... I had chicken thighs on hand and thought that roasting them with some savory spices like chili powder, paprika, garlic powder and onion flakes adds to the Spanish flovors.

I baked this in the oven at 375 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. But please check the "doneness" as chicken needs to reach at least 165 degrees internally.

I believe that chorizo sausage is the typical sausage for this dish... being in isolation I was stuck... but as I said before I do buy food on sale and freeze it... sweet success! Or almost perfect! I found some #pcfreefrom hot Italian Sausage! This can work!

I had previously opened a bag of large scallops and some amazing wild caught shrimp... These also worked perfectly... they were huge!... its like this meal was meant to be with all of my leftovers!

As for the seafood, I pan seared them in a pan on the stove adding some garlic and high heat oil and a touch of water to cook them through in a covered pan.

I will say the way I did this was not as speedy as I usually hope for with my meals, but it did allow me to season the 2 chicken thighs for the C2's and white rice to be cooked plain to ensure that I fed my kids what they also like! Basically, I paced out the cooking of meat to be finished about at the same time. I let it cool enough to support cutting it without burnt hands and I started to make the rice base!

I deviated again though... I am confident that artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives were not in the original script... they contributed for sure, if not a highlight to my version though!

I added as many olives as I had, whole, to the mix of rice in a oil warmed frying pan. I also cut up some artichoke hearts and added to the mix! Because I am disaster cooking #isolationmealprep using what I had... tomato basil pasta sauce was up to make a great impact! That and.... wait for it... Saffron! I bought this and covet it like Gollum does "his precious" but it was well worth it! And we have to splurge where we can!!! I soaked several threads in chicken broth to ensure an equal delivery to the dish.

I also added smoky paprika along with additional garlic powder to help enhance the Spanish flavors

I cut up the chicken and the sausage, stirred in the seafood, and incorporated them throughout the rice and sauce, spreading their flavour goodness to my dish! Check out my progression!

Add seafood....

Ensure you keep the liquid content appropriate to keep the rice and the sauciness in check and to avoid you dinner searing to the pan! I added Pacific Brand Chicken Broth #PacificBrand to keep the rice absorbing the amazing flavour.

Blended well and nicely combined and warmed, this was a great hearty meal that eaten with great company aka my husband! It took the edge off my eating out vibe!

The Recipe:

A meal for 2 people, double as required

2 large chicken thighs

Place in an oven safe dish at 375 degrees. Sprinkle with a high heat oil

1 tbsp. paprika

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. garlic

1/2 tbsp. dried minced onion flakes.

Bake until it hits 165 degrees internally. (about 30 minutes)

I placed the sausage on a drip pan and also placed in the oven at 375, I flipped them at 10 minutes and cooked for another 10-15 minutes.

I placed the shelled shrimp and scallops in an oiled pan with garlic and a touch of water. I covered the pan and cooked them through.... under 10 minutes... keep you eye on them!

Rice base

I used 2 cups of short grained white rice. I believe Arborio is the traditional rice for this.

I placed 2 cups of rice with 4 cups water and some avocado oil in a covered dish. Microwave for 20 minutes and it comes out perfectly cooked!

I dished 2 cups of the now cooked rice into the pan with 1 cup of chicken broth ( with saffron threads), 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce, 2 tbsp. of paprika, and 1 tbsp. garlic powder. I also added the olives and cut artichokes at this stage as the cooking process of them adds additional flavor throughout. You can continue to add tomato sauce until this reaches your desired sauciness, as well keep monitoring for the need to add more broth to avoid sticking or becoming overly dry.

Cut up the chicken and sausages, and add to the mix to incorporate and warm back up to temperature. Do the same with the seafood only slightly after the meats so as not to dry them out (they take less time to heat back up) Plate out and enjoy!