February 21, 2011

Paella

PAELLA ESPANOLA!
I just had to wear my Bata that I bought in Gijon so it was truely a Spanish Experience.
Ok so I've wanted to make Paella for a few months now, and have been gathering ingredients, but I just have been so nervous to do it. So I finally did it after researching and comparing some food network recipies. I had Paella a few times on my mission, and remembered how good it was and how Spanish it was! I had mastered the Spanish Tortilla de Patata, why couldn't I make Paella!

Ok so you start out with a Paella pan or very large skillet (preferably something oven safe with a lid.)

You can use whatever meat you want really. Traditionally paella uses a lot of shellfish, and also might use chorizo, chicken, rabbit, etc. whatever you want, throw it in! So I decided to use shrimp and chicken. Traditionally it also uses roasted red jarred peppers, peas, saffron, onion, garlic, bay leaf, rice, lemon, chicken stock or seafood stock, tomato, and olive oil. I used fresh green and red peppers, and chicken stock with all the other stuff.

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Hence the reason why I was so nervous to make this dish. I didn't want to mess it up! You can usually find it at most grocerie store, but some stores might not carry it. Shop around and use a coupon if you can to purchase it for the best price. I bought it at Sunflower market for about $7.50 for .01 oz or .3 grams, about 2 pinches or a teaspoon. So yeah.

Ok so here's the ingredients I used:

  • 2-3 Tb. Olive oil
  • 2-3 Chicken Breasts (boneless skinless cut into chunks) a lot of recipies I noticed used chicken legs and thighs with bones and skin on and cooked it whole.
  • 4 Garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, cut in strips
  • 1 red pepper, cut in strips (use jarred roasted red peppers if you can)
  • 1 tomato peeled, seeded, and chopped (I didn't peel mine)
  • 1 pinch of saffron (of the .01 oz I bought, I used half so I could make it again.)
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • 10 oz or 1 1/2 C. uncooked Valencia or other short grain rice. I used Basmati, but I think it's better to use Arborio.
  • 20 oz. or 3 1/2 C. of Chicken stock ( I just disolved a few chicken boullion cubes in water and simmered it till disolved. then in a cup to the side i disolved the saffron threads in about 1 C. of the stock. for a few minutes.)
  • 2 C. Shrimp ( I used uncooked med. shrimp unpeeled, but it would be easier to eat if they were pre-peeled.)
  • 1 C. green peas
  • 1 lemon cut into wedges for garnish. (After rinsing the shrimp I used part of the lemon and just squeezed it over the shrimp to give them a quick marinade before adding them to the paella.)

Preheat your oven to 350 F. So first heat the olive oil in your paella pan on med-hi for a couple minutes then add chicken and saute till golden. Then add onion, garlic, bay leaf, and green pepper. Saute till onions are transparent. Add the 1 C. of chicken stock with saffron dissolved in it (most recipes use white wine to deglaze, but of course i didn't have any so i used an extra cup of stock). Also add tomato, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil for a few minutes. Then add rice, the rest of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add your seafood (clams, mussles, squid, octopus, fish or whatever you want. I only used shrimp), and if your peas are frozen, add them now. Cover the paella and bake in pre-heated oven for 20 min. If you don't have an oven safe pan, you can just finish it off by letting it simmer for 20 min covered on the stove.

And that's it! Just make sure your rice is cooked, and your shrimp are pink (if they were uncooked). And enjoy with a Bara de pan or baguette if you can get one!

I know it sounds complicated, but it's really pretty easy. You can do it! And you house will smell like Spain!

February 16, 2011

New Family Pictures

Check out our New Family Pics:
Click on these links to see our new pics:
Enjoy!

February 15, 2011

2010 Year Review

We had a great year in 2010 and here's all the things we did and accomplished:
  • Brady learned tons of Sign language, up to 60 words!
  • Brady turned 1 at the beginning of the year and we had two big parties for him!
  • Brady completed the Mom and Tot swim lessons class in the Spring.
  • Robert took a Physiology class throught BYU and got an A!
  • Brady learned how to walk in March.
  • Robert took the DAT prep class at BYU, and retook the DAT and got 2 pts. better!
  • Robert re-applied for Dental school...and we're still waiting for the good news.
  • For spring break we went with Robert's Sister Wendy and husband Lance to visit their brother Jeff in Southern California. We spent Easter with them; watched general conference; went to the beach; had lots of parties; and went horse-back riding!
  • I sanded and refinished an coffee table Robert found me for free.
  • I made a book of my mission in Spain on Heritage Makers.
  • I made an ABC book of Brady's first year on Heritage Makers.
  • I had lots of adventures in the kitchen including learning how to bake without wheat or dairy.
  • I also had lots of adventures in sewing and crafting including our Halloween costumes, making a wreath out of coffee filters, and a wreath of white felt roses.
  • We attended the temple each month and managed to attend all these temples: Provo UT, Mt. Timpanogas UT, Jordan River UT, Bountiful UT, Rexburg ID, and Newport Beach CA. We also went to but didn't go inside the St. George UT temple, and Salt Lake City temple.
  • We went to Phoenix AZ so Robert could visit 2 dental schools. I visited Anasazi and we also visited with Roberts mission friends.
  • We went to the Grand Canyon for the first time.
  • We went camping and hiking in American Fork Canyon.
  • We won our Ward Halloween Costume Contest (see Halloween Post).
  • My brother Phillip got married in the Rexburg Temple and we attended their sealing and receptions in December.
  • And we spent the New Year with my family in Spokane. They flew Brady and I up for the week and we had lots of fun! Mostly Brady and cousin Dylan played and had a ball together!

Well it was a fun and eventful year! Here are my New Years Resolutions for this coming year that I have already started:

  • Loose 20 lbs. (doing the Jillian Michaels shred, p90x, and counting callories)
  • Read scriptures daily and study manual
  • Pray every morning before I read my scriptures
  • Learn to read patterns (for sewing)
  • Make a new temple dress for myself
  • Read the bible in my spare time
  • and...later on this year, after the go-ahead from the husband...get pregnant:)

That's all folks. I'll let you know how it goes. So far, I suck at sticking to my alloted calories. It's way hard not to eat what I want. Jillian Michaels kicks my but, but I think its working. And my scripture studing is going great- it's so much better to study with a manual!

It's a NEW YEAR! Yeah for New Beginnings!

New Year Update

So, I've been a little neglectful of my blog lately. But it's not like we don't have a few due updates! So since the year began Brady has started and completed a Tumbling Tots class! It was so fun for him and good for me too! He turned 2 years old! He had his first airplane ride! We went to Spokane to visit my family and help with Phillip's wedding reception. That was so nice to visit home for a while. And since Brady turned two, I swear the talking que kicked in. He is saying like two or three new words a day! I can't keep up with this kid! He is up to like 100 words he can say now. It's so fun. (see the list of words to the right.)
We also started a little pre-school with a couple of my friends two days a week. It's way good for Brady and fun for us to get together. We just teach simple concepts like numbers, letters, shapes, and opposites. Then they play for like an hour while we chat!
We would put him in a Start up Baseball class, but he has to be three, so we might do swimming lessons again this spring.
We had a nice Valentines Day. I decided not to spend a lot of money. Robert and I actually celebrated by going on a date on Saturday night. We went to dinner and a movie and got ice cream. It was really nice. Then we exchanged gifts on Sat. night. I made him a Card on Heritage Makers, and he got me .....a 25$ Visa Gift card to go on a shopping spree;) It was a gift a little out of the ordinary for him, but sweet, cause he knows i've been wanting some new clothes:) Then yesterday on V-day I wanted to do something to celebrate again of course. So I decided to make him his favorite Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake, his Grandma's recipe. It turned out delish. I also made a nice steak and potato dinner for two. Brady took a long nap and was sleeping when he got home from work so we got to have a quiet romantic dinner with sparkling cider! He thought I was playing a trick on him cause he didn't believe Brady would sleep so late, and that he wasn't even home. He thought Brady was somewhere else so that I could plan this romantic dinner. Anyway, right after our dinner, Brady woke up. It was perfect:) Hope you all had a nice Valentine's day with those you LOVE. What a nice day Valentine's Day is:) A celebration of Love.