Rice Cooker Paella

I call this the ‘lazy mom on a budget paella’. Intially, I wanted to make Paella with Chorizo and prawns in my non-stick pan. So I went to the super market in search of chorizo… the first one I went to did not have any but I found it at the 2nd supermarket. But darn, was it expensive! It was $26 for 2 links of sausages! No thanks, I’m not paying for that. So I improvised, I pointed out to a package of 8 smoked sausages for $10 which turned out delish! I used the rice cooker because I was too lazy to stand around my pan to make sure it doesn’t burn or need more stock. I know my rice cooker can work it’s magic and make my meal turn out the way I want it to be. Plus it helps to keep the food warm! The verdict was great! This is actually my first time making and having Paella, so the husband rated it for me. He loved it and so did the kids. Well, I did too. 🙂 You can use your crockpot to make this too! Just cook on high for 2 hours. If you are extra lazy that day, don’t even bother browning the meat, just dump them all into the pot and let it cook together with the rice. I brown it because it adds extra depth to the dish and it helps to seal in the juices of the meat.

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

• 5-6 large prawns, peeled and de-veined
• 250g chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 links of sausages, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups uncooked rice, washed (Rice cooker measuring cup or 3/4 cup regular measuring cup)
• 600ml chicken stock (3 cups)
• 1 can diced tomato, drained
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 med yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5-6 wedges of lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Heat pan on med high and add 1 tbsp oil.
Pan fry sausages until it turn a little brown.
Set aside.

In the same pan, add some oil… brown chicken.
Season chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp paprika.
Set aside.

Add remaining oil in the same pan.
Stir fry onion, garlic, and red pepper until onion starts to turn translucent.

Add the rice, paprika, and turmeric.
Mix well to coat.

Turn of heat and stir in frozen peas.
You can choose to stir in your diced tomatoes at this point too.

Transfer to rice cooker pot.
Then I stirred in the drained diced tomatoes in my rice cooker pot.

Mix until combined.

And mix in your chicken, and sausages.

Add in stock.

And the prawns.
Then cook as per normal.

And be wow-ed by what you are going to see when you pop open the lid!