Paella Revised

I've now made paella three times. The second and third times turned out well and I wanted to do a post on my version so I can use it instead of the original recipe (which sadly didn't work out for me due to mushy peas and headache-inducing chorizo).


Ingredients (for 6-8 servings):

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked (chopped in small pieces, seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme (or oregano or rosemary), covered with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Can be done the day before)
• 3 hot Italian sausages (put in pot of boiling water and cooked for 7 minutes. Then removed and sliced)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion (or mix of green, white and/or red onion), chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 4-5 mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp paprika or pimenton (I haven't tried it with more yet, but I think it would be good)
• 2 cups long grain rice
• 1 pinch saffron threads 
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken stock (or replace part with white wine)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. If meat is not cooked, cook it (as described above).
2. Heat oil in a large pot or paella pan over high heat. Add sausage pieces and cook until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion, peppers, celery, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.
3. Add rice, paprika/pimenton, saffron, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and coat the rice, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add chicken and tomato; stir to combine.
4. Cover the pot on the stove. Cook on low until rice is tender and no liquid remains, about 30-40 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.


--------------UPDATE-------------------
I make this recipe quite often now because it's great for lunches and leftovers! Some other modifications that have been successful:

• 1 c dark beer (Waterloo Dark!) and 3 c chicken stock. More beer would probably work too.
• adding 1/2 tsp turmeric or more. I used saffron and turmeric but some websites say turmeric can be used as a substitute for the saffron. It really helps give the rice more flavour and a yellow/orange colour.
• sometimes I just use chicken or just sausage and it's good.
• sometimes I add a pinch of crushed red pepper to get some heat.