paella dinner...

paella is one of my mom's staple dishes for company/entertaining, and she gets lots of requests for it.  this dish is great because it is good for a large crowd and parts of it can be made in advance.  this recipe is not a very authentic spanish style paella (because i do not like seafood), but the best part about paella, is that you can make it your own depending on your tastes.  traditionally paella is made in a large flat pan (it can even be cooked on the bbq) but i have found the paella pan to be a little intimidating to use, and i am able to make parts of the paella ahead of time by doing it in stages.

ingredients: (serves 6 + leftovers)

3 cups long grain white rice
5-6 cups chicken broth (or 5-6 ts. chicken bullion to make your own)
2 lemons
5 tb.olive oil
pinch of saffron threads
4 medium zuchinnis
1 cup frozen peas
3 packages of uncooked sausage (you can use mild italian, pork, chicken, turkey or any combination...your preference)
2 lb. chicken breasts or tenderloins
1 1/2 t. greek or lemon pepper seasoning

***i leave out all seafood and shellfish from my recipe, but of course you can add shrimp or mussels to yours***

how to:

i start out by cooking my meat first.  this is one of the steps that can be done in advance.  since we are dealing with raw sausage, you will have to cook them in boiling water.  this should take approximately 12-15 minutes.

once they are cooked through, i slice them at a angle (3 pieces per sausage link) and then brown them in a fry pan.

next...place your chicken in a baking dish.

 drizzle 1 tb. of olive oil, squeeze a half of a lemon and sprinkle with greek seasoning.

bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.  i am using chicken breast tenderloins in my recipe, and these tend to cook up very fast.  if you are using breast meat, it will take longer to bake.

the zuchinni is another step that can be done in advance.  i cut the zuchinni into 1/2 inch rounds and then cut them down the middle. drizzle with 1 tb. of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. bake them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until tender.

***refrigerate meat and zuchinni until you are ready to reheat***

the last step in putting your paella together is making the flavorful rice.

the trick to the rice, is making the broth taste as flavorful as chicken soup.  i start out by heating up 5 1/2 cups of water and adding 5 ts. of chicken bullion, 1 1/2 lemon juice, large pinch of saffron, and 3 tb. olive oil. when seasoned water is at a light boil, add your rice and let cook until tender, approximately 20 minutes.

while your rice is cooking, this is a good time to reheat your meat and zuchinni.  turn your oven onto 350 degrees.  place all of your chicken and sausage in one large baking dish and warm through.  the zuchinni will not take as long to heat up, so you can either heat in the microwave for a few minutes, or wait until the meat is almost done and then place it on a cookie sheet to warm up in the oven.

now comes the fun part...time to assemble!  once your rice is cooked, throw in your frozen peas (they will warm through very quickly), zuchinni and mix together.  then add all of the meat (and juices) on top and give it a stir.

garnish with some lemon wedges, serve with french bread and salad. enjoy...