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Pineapple Paella

I'm back! I assumed that making this would be insanely complicated, but it turns out it was easier than like half the stuff I make. No more paella intimidation! 

Prepare a meat or meat substitute--chorizo sausage is popular in this I think, but I used one of my go-to fake sausages, Beyond Meat spicy "Italian Sausage" (we grilled over the weekend so I had some in the house). 

Whether you're using a sausage or chicken, dice it up and sautee it in EVOO till cooked, set aside. 

Doesn't have to be a huge amount. I used two "sausages" so that's probably 1-1/2 cups. 

Preheat the oven to 400, and find an oven-safe skillet (cast iron is your friend if you have it).
In the skillet, you'll sautee diced vegetables. I'm guessing you could do nearly anything, but here's what I used:
  • Bell pepper
  • tomato
  • onion
  • peas (not frozen)
  • pineapple (yes, pineapple)
  • Probably about 2-3 cups of veggies in total. 
Season the veggies with a little paprika, and then add in 1-1/2 cups of uncooked rice. I used jasmine rice, but I bet lots of kinds would be good, like brown rice, basmati, etc. 

Stir so the rice gets mixed in with the veggies, add a 1/2 cup of white wine. Then, put the meat back in and add 2 cups of vegetable broth (can use chicken broth if you're not making it vegetarian). 

Once all that is mixed and simmering, cover the skillet and put the whole thing in the oven for 20 minutes. Mine was fully cooked at 20 but I could see this taking 25...you need all liquid absorbed so the rice is cooked, and some rices take longer. So, at 20 minutes, give it a little taste test and cook until the rice is done. 

Take it out, top with some parsley or maybe cilantro, and BOOM! You have paella!

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