The Quirky Paella Night!!

Hola Amigos!!! Tonight we have enjoyed a spanish feast including the very yummy Quirky Paella!! In the home of the Quirky Nutshell we always try to spend time together and have our dinners as a family, I love it when the children help with the preparation and cooking, better still when they wash up!! Ha ha!!  But seriously, it's a special time when we can share our thoughts and activities of the day and just talk! I love spending time with my family and over food it seems to relax everyone and create a nice ambience. 

With my mission to save as much money as I can, I continue to shop at Aldi as I believe it to be the best value for great food. I shop there every week and have done for the last year and have saved a massive amount on my weekly shop. I love cooking great food and I don't buy processed foods if I can help it. As a busy full time working mother of three children it can be a challenge to try and cook healthy meals on a budget that do not take hours to make!! This recipe uses all ingredients from Aldi, with some stock ingredients already in my cupboard the whole decadent meal cost less than £10 and serves 4 people. This is including side dishes too! But not including wine! Although I do always buy my wine from Aldi, a personal favourite is their Castellore Montepulciano, but for today's recipe it has got to be a good Rioja. Check out some more beautiful wines by following the link:

Aldi Wine Cellar

If I can I will cheat at opportune moments as time is a precious thing. So today I will share with you my (cheating) Quirky Paella. I love cooking spanish food, it reminds me of holidays, my dad and grandparents live in Spain so it reminds me of visits to see them, eating out at Tapas bars and the memory of holiday. Paella is a fabulous dish to cook and I have and do cook the real thing when I have the time and when I have the budget. The recipe I will share with you is a budget friendly recipe that tastes great and doesn't take as long to make. 

Quirky nuts from the
Quirky Nutshell

Aldi Shopping List: 

4 x golden vegetable savoury rice @ 25p a packet =£1.00

1 chorizo sausage ring = £1.35

Pack of mixed peppers = 95p

Frozen jumbo king Prawns = £2.29

Medium fresh chicken @ £3.59 =£1.80

Asparagus tips £1.09

Ready to bake baguettes = 39p
TOTAL = £8.89

What a great price for an amazing meal, a great opportunity to eat together, celebrate an occasion (Today is Monday? always a good reason to celebrate), a graduation, leaving for university, friends over, whatever the cause this dinner is great! 

OMG what a bargain!!
The main ingredient, in fact the base for the whole meal is this wonderful Golden Vegetable Savoury Rice from Aldi, only 25p a packet!! The packet serves 2 as a side dish, but if you are serving as a whole meal within a paella I would recommend a packet for each adult. 

The Brilliant Staple to our Recipe!
What a bargain at only 25p a packet!!

So how do I make all this wonderful food?

Paella

What do I need?

1 red onion, peeled and diced

1 pack mixed peppers: Red, green and yellow: chopped

1/2 chorizo sausage sliced thinly

1/2 medium cooked roast chicken cut into bite sized pieces

225g frozen jumbo king prawns, defrosted

4 packets golden savoury rice

25g frozen petit pois peas

olive oil 

What do I do?

First heat the oil and fry your onions until they are translucent, add the chorizo and stir until the chorizo is starting to brown. Add the cooked chicken and the peppers, stir well incorporating all the juices from the chorizo into the chicken and pepper. Add the packets of rice and stir until the juices are all combined, then mix in 400ml of cold water. 

Put the heat up to high and mix until the paella starts to bubble, turn down the heat. Now add the grilled jarred peppers, tear them by hand then mix into the paella. If the rice is starting to stick, continue to add more water. You will need to add another 700ml so add little and often.  The rice will take about 15 minutes to cook within the mixture. 

                                                      

When the rice is almost ready, add the cooked prawns and frozen peas, stir well and let cook for another 5 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!! Feel free to add the tapas dishes for a real Spanish feast. 

Chorizo in Red Wine
What do I need?

• 1/2 chorizo sausage
• 1 glass red wine

Use the remaining half of your chorizo sausage and slice thinly, put into a frying pan cover the sliced sausage with red wine. Heat slowly, turning the slices of sausages over every few minutes. After 10 minutes turn up the heat and  let the wine reduce. Serve and enjoy!

Use a nice red wine to cook your chorizo. 

Let the remaining
red wine bubble until
it reduces.

Griddled Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar

What do I need? 

• Packet of asparagus tips
• balsamic vinegar

Using Aldi asparagus tips, put into a hot griddle pan, using a spoon keep turning the asparagus over. When the asparagus has started to brown serve in a bowl and drizzle over balsamic vinegar. Serve and enjoy!! Super easy!!  

When the asparagus tips are starting to
brown, turn over

Brilliant! Griddled asparagus with balsamic vinegar

Alioli 
As far as I am concerned, tapas isn't tapas unless there is alioli! We absolutely love it!! Again, it's so easy to make and tastes amazing! Serve with freshly baked baguettes. 

What do I need?

• 2 heaped tablespoons of mayonnaise 
• 2 cloves garlic
• drizzle of olive oil
• black pepper

Ingredients from Aldi

Put your
crushed garlic
in a bowl. 

Mix really well!!

Add 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise. 

Serve with freshly baked bread

I hope you enjoy your Spanish feast, thank you for reading xxx

All the dishes put together, our Spanish Feast