Paella - Chicken and Sausage

For this recipe I used a small vintage Dansk paella pan for preparation of the down-sized original recipe. This version serves about 3 hungry soles.  Paella is a yummy Spanish dish with its classic saffron-yellow rice, brightly colored veggies and combination of seafood and meats.  Originally posted in 2010 this remains a favorite that we do not make often enough.


INGREDIENTS

• ½ -3/4 Lb. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (substitute Breasts with Rib Meat and Organic if available) chopped into bite size pieces
• ½ Tsp. Turmeric
• ½ Tsp. - Pimentón (Spanish Paprika - sometimes smoked)
• Dash (1/16th Tsp.) Oregano
• EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• ½ Lb. Mild Italian Sausage (ground)
• 1 Medium Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper, chopped
• 10 oz Rice - Yellow Saffron pre-spiced Medium Rick
• 3/4 Cup Diced Plum or Amoroso Tomato
• ½ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• Garlic to taste 2-3 large Garlic Cloves (Sub: Garlic Onion in season)
• 3 Cups – Organic, Chicken Broth, low sodium
• 1 Cup – Frozen Broccoli, thawed
• ½ Cup – Frozen Peas, thawed 
• NOTE:  You could add Chicken broth and Shrimp to this recipe as other options to mix up the flavors.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat Big Green Egg to 400 degrees. If you can’t swing grilling this recipe you can start it on the cook top and finish it in the oven (sacrilegious of course).
2. Add Turmeric, Pimentón, Oregano, salt and pepper to chicken stock and set aside.
3. Heat oil in Pan of Choice (Paella, Iron Skillet, Terracotta, etc) and precook the chicken and sausage then remove and set aside.
4. Sauté the onions and garlic, asparagus and peppers and when just about tender, add the tomatoes, sauté for 3-4 more minute then remove and set aside.
5. Change from direct to indirect setting and add the stock and rice, Paprika, Saffron (if applicable).
6. Stir ONCE and close the lid and sauté for 15 minutes checking the rice for tenderness before adding the remaining ingredients.
7. Add the sausage, chicken and sauteed veggies and peas and stir well and close the lid again for 8-10 minutes of simmering. ; Remove from heat and serve from Paella pan.

Betty Crocker Pizza Dough is the BEST!

I've been following food blogs for 5-6 years now and I watch people spend hours on dough preparation; I take five minutes.  I tried it all, the Kitchenaide dough hooks variety, fresh dough from the store, or a local pizza parlor, Boboli, even Pillsbury roll out dough (my second favorite).  Sorry, for my taste, indoor oven or on the Grill, Betty Crocker mix suits our tastes just fine and tonight was one of those prep it, cook it, clean it and get off my feet nights.  No awards are going to be won with this pizza tonight...it IS all gone however.

SAUSAGE WITH BELL PEPPERS AND A SPRINKLING OF PEPPERONI

PEPPERONI AND A SPRINKLING OF SAUSAGE

Served up on our Emile Henry Flame Cookware stones...we were in mass production tonight so I used them as cutting boards instead of cooking on them.  It's as much about the ingredients as anything. And tonight we even went less than full organic, lol. 

Used precooked sausage and pepperoni and about 1 Cup of grated fresh Parmesan, A half cup of shredded Mozzarella, and 2 cups of a Mozzarella/Provolone combo. 

MY FAVORITE...CANNOT BE CONVINCED OTHERWISE...

Add Uncle Jon's Summer Kitchen Pizza Sauce and Aunt Sue's Pickled Banana peppers and some EVOO on the dough and you are READY TO BAKE.  On the Egg, it would be 500+ for ten minutes, in the oven it is 450 for about 15-16 minutes.

And for my Muncie Friends...I cut it in squares but this AIN'T no Pizza King Royal Feast...no way; even with the Red Peppers sprinkled on thick.

Chicken and Egg Noodles on the Wok

Now THIS is NOT a Memorial Day Classic...we had no company and no buns, brats or hamburgers so we fired up the BGE and Wokked up our dinner; hey, at least we cooked out!
Found a Chicken Capri Pasta recipe one evening that looked good so while typing up the recipe I set out to find out what 'Capri' had to do with it...unable to find a logical tie to the use of the term ‘Capri’ I dumped it and started over.  Since I often take my hunger queues visually my ideas start very often based on a picture from a magazine, recipe book or online.   After dissecting the original recipe (it was a little boring) this dish was born; I guess it’s now an original, simple, fast and tasty.  This is easily scalable for serving a larger crowd but most importantly is the versatility it offers to mess with the ingredients e.g. substituting Shrimp for Chicken, changing noodles to pasta, mixing up the veggie combination; adding or subtracting spices et al. 

The entire thing can be fixed in a Emile Henry Ceramic Wok, including boiling the egg noodles...amazing cookware!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

        4 - Medium Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips &/or chunks  (Organic)
€        4 - Medium Green Onions, chopped fine
€        1 Large - Orange Bell Pepper, cut into strips
€        14 Oz. Bag of Frozen Baby Broccoli florets (2 cups)
€        10 oz.- Garlic Cooking Crème
€        4 Servings - Hong Kong style Egg Noodles (boiled until done and drained)
€        ¼ Cup - Shredded Parmesan Cheese
€        Celery Salt and Black Ground Pepper (to taste)

Directions

1.    Fire up Egg on direct and cook chicken (salt and pepper to taste) and onions in a EH Wok in EVOO until it is near completion then stir in the peppers and stir continuously until they are crispy tender. 
2.    Stir in broccoli and cook until heated through then add the cooking crème; cook and stir until all contents are heated through.  Serve over Egg Noodles with a sprinkling of finely shredded Parmesan cheese.