Mixed Paella

So I attempted to make my very first Paella last night.  I got the recipe from the Food Network, Perfect Paella by Rachel Ray.  I made a few modifications to make it just a little healthier.  First thing I did was go to the grocery store to get my meat selection.  The first question I asked the seafood person was, are those shrimp deviened.  His answer, oh yes!  I get home and OH NO they weren't!  I didn't realize this until it was pretty much time to add them to the rice, so make note, check your shrimp to make sure they are cleaned!  The recipe was pretty easy, I would add some extra spices to give it a bit more flavor (maybe that's what the chorizo would have done).  All in all everyone seemed to like it.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, (I used one instead of 3)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups enriched white rice
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 quart chicken broth or stock
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into thirds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound chicken sausage, (I used this in place of chorizo)
• 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, 24 shrimp
• 18 green lipped mussels, cleaned
• 1 cup frozen peas

Directions:

In a very wide pan or paella pan, preheated over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,  crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, add rice and saute 2 or 3 minutes. Add saffron threads, bay leaf, broth, and thyme and bring liquids to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan with lid or foil and reduce heat to simmer.
In a separate nonstick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions to the pan and cook 3 minutes longer. Add chorizo to the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.
After about 13 minutes, add shellfish to the rice pan, nesting them in cooking rice. Pour in peas, scatter lemon zest over the rice and seafood, then cover the pan again. After 5 minutes, remove cover or foil from the paella and discard any unopened mussel shells. Stir rice and seafood mixture and lift out bay and thyme stems, now bare of their leaves. Arrange cooked chicken and peppers, onions and chorizo around the pan. Serve with wedges of lemon and warm bread.