Weeknight Paella x 3

By mrboyton

With a little planning & investment in time (about 30 minutes) you can have a great meal ready to pull out from the freezer and get on the table any hectic weeknight (3 times!!). You prep this meal ahead of time, divide into 3 freezer bags and toss in the freezer. Pull it out some evening and you can have dinner on the table less than an hour after you walk in the door, and you only need to be actively involved for 20 minutes of the cooking time!!
Ingredients

serve with bread and salad

Ingredients

•  For Prep Work:
•  3 cups long grain rice
•  1 large bell pepper, chopped, about 1 cup
•  2 large onions, chopped, about 2-3 cups
•  14 oz can artichoke hearts
•  14 oz can sliced black olives
•  14 oz can green olives
•  14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
•  1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast meat
•  1 pound kielbasa
•  1 1/2 tablespoons chicken base
•  1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
•  1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
•  1 1/2 teaspoons parsley flakes
•  1 sazon goya seasoning pack
•  to taste, fresh ground black pepper
•  6 tablespoons water
•  3 bay leaves
•  to taste, red pepper sauce (like tabasco)
•  3 T olive oil
•  12 small freezer bags
•  3 large freezer bags
• 
•  For each time you cook:
•  2 cups hot water

Details

Servings 3
Adapted from thespicehouse.com

Preparation

Step 1

Serves / Yields
3 meals - 4 servings each
Preparation Instructions
Prep work: Put 1 cup rice into each of 3 small freezer bags, seal & set aside. Put 1/3 of the onion, 1/3 of the red pepper, 1/3 of ea of the olives and fire roasted tomatoes into each of 3 small freezer bags, seal & set aside. Chop chicken breast into bite size pieces & divide among 3 small freezer bags. Slice Andouille into rounds about 1/4 inch thick, divide among the 3 freezer bags with chicken in them. In a small bowl combine: 1/2 tablespoon chicken base, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 tablespoon parsley flakes, 1/3 goya packet, black papper to taste, and 2 tablespoons water 1 T olive oil. Combine well & pour into one of the chicken/Andouille bags, toss in bag to coat meat. Add a bay leaf & hot sauce to taste, seal & set aside. Repeat previous step for 2 remaining chicken/Andouille bags.divide peas into 3rd bag In each of the large freezer bags, place a rice bag, an onion/pepper bag, a pea bag, & a seasoned chicken/andouille bag. Seal well removing excess air & freeze. Cooking it: Remove a bag from freezer and defrost. Add all bags except for peas to a large pot. Add 2 C of water. Bring contents to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
Helpful HintsEach bag yields 4 servings. You can substitute broth or white wine for part or all of the water when cooking it.