Spell it? What is it?

Well, dear readers, let me tell you…

DH and I have never been to Spain together, so we didn’t really know where to start for the Spanish portion of our Stay-cation. I reached out to one of my colleagues for suggestions, since he had been telling DH and I that going to Barcelona was a fantastic idea. To be honest, two of the three or four recipes we tried were ideas from him!

When researching recipes for Spain, I’d hit up the tried and true Serious Eats. They have SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. I lucked out and found a paella recipe that was for two people – no need to worry about having too much left over if we didn’t enjoy it. Stovetop Paella Mixta for Two with Chicken and Shrimp!

Here’s the thing. I’m not well versed in spice – heat and I aren’t the best of friends. I can handle a little, and was willing to try a bit through this recipe, but unfortunately, my grocery store didn’t have either of the peppers that were specified. Luckily, they were optional!

The other twist to this recipe was the fact that I was unable to find the correct rice, which meant I was using my phone in the grocery store to determine which rice would be a good substitute – Arborio to the rescue!

Overall, this recipe was a little more intensive than I anticipated, but it was absolutely worth it – the chicken was juicy and tasty, the shrimp tasted really good, and although the rice could have used a bit more spice, it was still worth all the work.

A fantastic meal to celebrate the first Spanish night of stay-cation, AND our anniversary! Quick! Go try this one!