Paella

 Paella is one of my family's favorite meals. Not only is it tasty it is also really easy to make and takes about 1 hour from start to finish. This makes enough paella for my family (2 adults, 1 toddler, and one baby who doesn't eat food yet) with enough for an additional meal. I doubled the recipe when I took these photos. You can also add seafood or other local meats if you desire. If you use brown rice use the amount of liquid indicated on the packaging and increase your cooking time.

Syd's Super Easy Paella
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 pound chorizo or other sausage (we think chorizo is better)
2 Tbsp olive oil (canola or vegetable oil would also work)
1/4 - 1/2 of a medium sized onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 cup white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp turmeric
2 bay leaves
4 oz frozen sweet peas

- Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, remove chorizo from it's casing and brown together in the skillet or stock pot you are cooking the paella in. Remove meat from pan and place in a colander with a bowl underneath (collect the grease to discard later).

 - Cover the bottom of the pan with approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute onion in the bottom of the pan. (I added a little green pepper for the first time and did not think it added anything to the dish but I also did not add very much.)  Add rice to pan and stir well into the olive oil stirring occasionally. After about 5 minutes add the garlic and stir occasionally for an additional 5 minutes. This time is approximate, you are waiting until the majority of the rice becomes opaque. Be careful not to burn the rice.

 - Add chicken broth, salt, pepper, turmeric, and bay leaves to rice. Cook over medium heat, covered for approximately 20 minutes. Stir occasionally while while increasing frequency toward the end to prevent rice from sticking. Remove the bay leaves so you do not accidentally eat them. I recommend eating a few pieces of rice at this time to make sure they are thoroughly cooked. If they are not add additional chicken broth or water and increase cooking time. Re-taste rice before proceeding to the next step, no one likes to eat hard rice!

- Add meat and peas to rice, stir, and cover for an additional 5 minutes. (My toddler will only eat the peas if they are not mixed in with the rice. I steam mine separately, add hers to her plate, and mix the rest of the peas into the paella.)