This weekend was moderately successful, as measured by the goals I set for myself on Friday. I did accomplish 1) watching the Office, and 5) doing some major spring cleaning (it is insane how many opened ketchup bottles were sitting in our fridge). Goals 2-4 were unfortunately not attained. Still no couch for the porch, Steve dominated me at Mario Kart Wii, and I didn’t really think at all about my hair this weekend. I blame laziness.
I also blame it on the fact that Steve and I went to see a television taping on Friday night. You can read more about that on my husband’s blog here. Suffice it to say, it’s a show that involves an 80’s superstar with massive biceps, and an event called the Eliminator. Yeah, we go on crazy dates sometimes.
I also did some cooking this weekend, and made paella for the first time. Paella is a Spanish rice dish that gets it’s name from the Valencian term for frying pan. Typically, saffron is a key ingredient in paella, but since I didn’t have any saffron around, I sort of improvised the spices. It was delicious, and made about a week’s worth of meals for us. Try it, and let me know what you think!
Chicken and Shrimp Paella
4 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 large green pepper, julienned
3 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
In a saucepan, combine broth, rice, onion, half of the garlic, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the green pepper, onions, parsley, thyme, hot pepper sauce and remaining garlic in oil for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms. Cook until green pepper is crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and peas; heat through. Discard bay leaf. Add rice mixture to vegetable mixture and kep warm. In a nonstick skillet, cook and stir shrimp in lemon juice for 2 minutes. Add chicken; cook until chicken is no longer pink and shrimp has turned pink, about 3-5 minutes. Add to rice mixture; toss. Serves 10-12.
The Larissa Monologues 
That’s a seriously long list of ingredients! haha At least you accomplished some of your goals for the weekend! I recently spring cleaned my finances, my closet, and my desk drawers. 🙂
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Congrats for accomplishing some of your goals! I didn’t really get through all of mine either.Btw…that paella looks delicious!
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God, I could just die of jealousy! I love that show!
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Paella looks sooo ono, but I’m with twentysomethingandcluless…too many ingredients.My girlfriend tells me that T Joes has a good price on saffron.
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I love paella!!That’s awesome you saw American Gladiators…my sister met Titan one time (his parents used to be my sister’s neighbors)!
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That looks delicious!!! I’m not sure we have all of those ingredients in the house right now, but I am seriously craving that for dinner now!
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oooh that meal sounds delicious! and congrats on le goals, you’re so productive. 🙂
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I like the shrimp and chicken paella. There are many ingredients, but that’s what a paella is. I’ve only made paella one time – it’s a pretty expensive dish to make.
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i have never had paella, but thats sounds awesome!
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Mmm, this sounds and looks delicious! And so healthy! I’ll have to try it.
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I am so on this! It looks SO yummy!
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That’s so great you got some things done that was important!! The meal looks delish!!
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Why are men SO much better at Mario Cart than us girls? I don’t understand it.
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Sounds delish– though I need more spices!
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At least you accomplished some of the goals, right? (:The paella looks beautiful, delicious and a little complicated. But I’ve never made one before, and it makes me want to give it a try. I may be asking for paella tips in the near future…
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yeah thats one nice looking paella.i usually stick to the saffron version with all the seafood. This is a plesant change, and easier to get the ingredients too.
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Oh that sounds delicious, and for once I have all the ingredients to hand.
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that’s a whole lotta ingredients, but they’re not obscure and the instructions are pretty straightforward – all things that i like in a recipe. it’s on the list!
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I love the idea of just chicken & shrimp in a paella…it looks delicious!
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Wow! this looks seriously good.😛Alexander< HREF="http://www.kakinan.com/alex" REL="nofollow">Alex’s World! – http://www.kakinan.com/alex<>
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Wow! That is a ton of ingredients. I might have to restock my pantry to make this concoction.
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