Chicken and Shrimp Paella

This dish is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites to make and to eat! You show up with this dish at a football party and you will be very popular. It's one of those dishes that people know about, but not all have tried. This is a basic recipe that includes chicken and shrimp, but you could most certainly add in other seafood, like scallops and muscles. And again, I would have loved to make this dish for my Mom and Dad. I really think they would have loved it!

Ingredients:

6 to 8 bone in chicken thighs

1 pound of jumbo shrimp (uncooked), peeled, tails on (seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika)

1 link of a mild Spanish chorizo, sliced

1 medium white onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Poblano pepper, diced

1 small red bell pepper, diced

6 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 cups of Arborio rice

1/2 cup of frozen peas and carrots or just peas

4 cups of chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder

generous pinch of saffron

lemon wedges for garnish

olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a heavy pan with a flat bottom to medium/high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with a light dusting of salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika, brown the chicken on both sides (4 minutes per side).

2. Preheat oven to 350º F. After chicken is done browning, transfer to baking dish, cover and bake for 25 minutes, remove from oven and set aside. Drain almost all of the oil from pan used to cook chicken, leaving a couple of tablespoons.

3. Heat pan to medium/high heat, add the onions, poblano peppers, cook for 3 minutes, add the garlic and Spanish chorizo, cook for 1 more minute. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, wine, saffron and arborio rice, bring to a boil, add chicken making sure that the rice is completely covered, taste for salt. Cover and cook for a good 15 minutes without disturbing, add the shrimp and veggies (spreading out evenly), cover again and cook on low for another 10to 15 minutes or until shrimp is cooked (pink) and most of the liquid is absorbed. Yields up to 8 servings.

Serve and garnish with lemon wedges.

Other recipes by Sonia:

Beef Chili
Buñuelos
Cheesy Chorizo Bread
Pork Chile Colorado
Polvorones (Mexican Shortbread Cookies)
Shrimp-Stuffed Little Chiles
Pork Chile Verde
Lemon Pepper Chicken Fajitas
Simply Seasoned Shrimp
Chicken Chilaquiles

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