What is Paella Anyway?

Paella: “A saffron flavored dish made of rice with shellfish and chicken.” Quoted from somewhere on the internet.

     After creating this “paella” and comparing the ingredients to the actual definition, I realized that I did not really create “paella” at all. Saffron? no check, Shellfish? no check check, and chicken? Does turkey sausage count?

    Hmm. so what’s a cook to call this? Paella sounds so much closer to “gourmet” than something like “Erin’s Healthy and Delicious Rice and Beans.” Any ideas?

      Without dwelling on the definition any longer, just know that we thoroughly enjoyed this creation. I started with an easy paella recipe from Martha Stewart. Is there nothing this woman cannot do? My Grandma loves her and indeed CRIED when she was sentenced for that whole stock market scandal. Anyway, I tweaked the recipe as my cupboard and fridge saw fit and the recipe below is what I came up with.

     The dish was full of flavor and the aroma from the pan filled our apartment. Brandon couldn’t wait to dig in when he came home. We were delighted with every bite and although I could hardly finish a 1/2 cup ( it basically expands in your stomach and then it hits you almost instantly that you are FULL ), for what I did eat, it tasted excellent!  Oh and we also had a spinach salad and garlic bread to compliment. Yum! I love bread!

    There is nothing bland about this combination of foods and it has such an awesome nutritional profile! The addition of tumeric gives it a great boost of nutrition. In fact, tumeric has been shown to have natural anti-inflammatory properties (helping those with arthritis), speed up the wound healing process, and it might possibly aid in fat metabolism. Seems to be worth an addition to the diet!

    This could easily simmer in the crockpot for the day and make for a quick dinner!

   “Paella” The Healthy Apron’s Way
Makes 4 generous servings! Probably roughly 1 1/2 cups!
Adapted from “Easy Paella” by Martha Stewart
1 T Olive Oil
8 oz of Turkey Sausage or lean beef (antibiotic and hormone-free preferred): OPTIONAL…great without!
1/2 a large onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3/4c long grain brown rice
1 cup black beans or 1 (15 oz) can if you are going sans meat! (rinsed and drained or no salt added variety)
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tsp tumeric
7.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 (14.5oz) can low sodium chicken broth
salt/pepper to taste (I used just a dash of each)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Directions:
1. Add 1 T olive oil to a large saute pan and add sausage. Cook at medium heat until just beginning to brown and then add onion and cook until translucent, stirring frequently (~3-4 minutes). Add the garlic and rice and stir until rice is translucent (~1-2 minutes).
2. Stir in paprika, tumeric, diced tomatoes, black beans, and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook until most of the liquid has absorbed  (~45-60 minutes). Stir in peas and cook 1 more minute. Serve immediately.
*I would guess 3-4 hours in the crockpot would suffice OR 8 hours if it was on a very low setting. I have not tried this though so use your best judgement and let me know how it turns out!
Nutritional Profile (per serving): 260 calories, 8.1g fat (1.9g sat, 0.6 poly, 2.6 mono), 40mg cholesterol, 27.5g carbohydrate, 6.7g fiber, 19.8g protein, 3.1 g sugars, 239mg sodium, 335mg potassium

20% Vitamin A, 20% Vitamin C, 22% Folate, 12% Phosphorus,  16% Thiamin

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