Chicken Sausage Paella

This recipe came out delicious, but if you prefer seafood, you can very easily substitute the chicken sausage for shrimp or other types of seafood. You could also add chicken (I didn't have any) & I wanted to make a meal with what I had in the house already.

Chicken Sausage Paella

Ingredients for Broth:

1 clove Garlic-peeled & to be removed before adding to rice

1/2 teaspoon Saffron threads

4 cups Chicken or Veggie Stock

2 Tablespoons Sun dried Tomato paste

½ teaspoon Green peppercorns

1 large sprig fresh Sage (to be removed later)

½ cup dry Red Wine

3 tablespoons Penzey’s Northwood Seasoning

Ingredients for Rice:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil

1 package (about 6) spicy Chicken Sausage

Nature’s Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

3-4 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 yellow Onion-diced

3-4 cloves fresh Garlic-minced

½ green Bell Pepper-cored, seeded & diced

2 cups uncooked Jasmine rice

2 teaspoons smoked Spanish Paprika

2 cups peeled whole tomatoes-roughly chopped (I used the ones I canned last summer). Then extract juice to add to broth pot.

1 cup frozen Peas

4 Celery stalks-diced

Lemon wedges (for garnish)

Directions:

In a large pot, over medium heat, bring to a boil all of the ingredients for broth. Reduce heat & allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes covered.

In either a Paella pan, or a dutch oven, over high heat, heat olive oil. Sauté onions, garlic, & basil. Add chicken sausage & cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add celery, & bell pepper & seasonings. Cook until tender. Add tomatoes, peas & rice. With a ladle, add exactly 4 & ½ cups of broth to your pot & stir briefly & gently so that all ingredients are evenly dispersed. Reduce heat to low & cover until rice is tender & all liquid is gone.

**I used exactly 4 ½ cups of broth & my rice was perfect. Remember that if your tomatoes had a lot of juice you may want to decrease the broth measurement a little. I use the following measurement for making Jasmine rice:

1 cup uncooked rice + 1 & ¼ cup liquid = perfect rice!

Spanish Turkey-Black Bean Tacos

Yes, I know, your all tired of turkey. But for the life of me I just can't waste good turkey meat (or anything else for that matter). I was racking my brain yesterday trying to come up with just one more way to prepare the leftover turkey meat, and it hit me.....use my recipe for Spanish chicken, but substitute it for TURKEY! Genius...if I must say so myself.

And as soon as you get over this recipe, I'll have yet another use for the leftover Spanish turkey mixture from last night....(insert cheesy smile)!

Spanish Turkey-Black Bean Tacos

1 package Corn Tortilla

2-3 large Chicken Breasts (skinless & boneless)**I used the leftover Turkey meat & reduced the cooking time to 15 minutes.

1 can Black Beans

1 cup Cilantro

2 cups Cherry or small Tomatoes

3-4 cloves fresh garlic-Minced

1 yellow Onion-diced

2 teaspoons Spanish Smoked Paprika

1 Green Bell Pepper-diced

1 Serrano pepper-with half the seeds removed-minced

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Salt & pepper to taste

¼ cup Olive Oil

½ cup Corn or Vegetable oil

Begin by chopping veggies, & heating olive oil over stovetop. Add garlic and onions, and cook until golden brown. Add bell pepper, tomatoes and whole chicken breasts. Add salt, pepper, and paprika. Add stock, then cover & reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 20 minutes, and then remove chicken and place on a cutting board. Slice or shred chicken into small pieces, then add back to pit & cook for an additional 5 minutes on low.

Heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add three tortillas at a time to hot oil. Flip tortillas every minute or so, until golden brown, and edges have become crispy. Remove & place on paper towel to drain, & immediately fold each tortilla in half.

Heat beans & ¾ cup chopped cilantro, salt & pepper over stove top. Serve with tacos, chicken meat & top with remaining cilantro, sour cream or queso fresca.