Quinoa and Shrimp Paella

Quinoa and Shrimp Paella
Quinoa and Shrimp Paella

Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve added any recipes to the site…but it’s busy here. There’s a long backlog of photos from great recipes we’ve found. That’s one thing about doing this site that always amazes me, week after week, I can find 5-7 new recipes to try for dinner, most of which are really yummy and not too hard to make. There’s so many food blogs out there that I keep finding new ones. Like SkinnyMs.com, not a site I would normally have found, but I was looking for shrimp dishes and wondered about adding quinoa to help make a filling meal while keeping the cost down…and that’s how I stumbled across this Quinoa and Shrimp Paella. We first made it a couple of weeks ago, but one of the kids requested it again, and it was yummy so we made it again. The one thing that we’ve changed is to up the cooking time. We’ve found that it takes another 10-15 minutes in that last step to finish absorbing the chicken stock and make sure the shrimp is cooked through.

Quinoa and Shrimp Paella

MealsWeLike.com adapted from SkinnyMs.com
A delicious and healthy twist on a classic Spanish dish.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Spanish
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Onion diced
  • 2 Cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tbs Olive oil
  • 1 1/2 Cups Quinoa rinsed, we use Inca Red quinoa
  • 3 Cups Chicken broth
  • 1/4 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1/2 Tsp Saffron threads
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper
  • 1/2 Cup Sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
  • 1 Red bell pepper sliced into 1/2" strips
  • 1-2 Cups frozen green peas
  • 1 lb Large shrimp peeled

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet, heat oil to medium-low and sauté onions until tender, about 5 minutes.
  • Add bell pepper strips and sauté an additional 4 minutes.
  • Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
  • Add quinoa, chicken broth, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, saffron, paprika, black pepper.
  • Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil, and continuing cooking approximately 10 minutes.
  • Add sun-dried tomatoes, peas and shrimp, cover and continuing cooking 15-20 minutes (was 5 in original, but that didn't seem to cook the shrimp or quinoa fully).
  • Remove from heat, leave covered and allow to set 10 minutes.
  • Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Here’s the original recipe: http://skinnyms.com/quinoa-shrimp-paella