Chicken and Shrimp Paella

I was inspired by my father-in-law's trip to Spain and so I decided that this month's international night had to also be Spain. With that in mind, the only thing I really thought was appropriate as a main dish was paella (pronounced pie-eh-ya for those who didn't take Spanish in school). It seemed a little complicated and complex, but in the end, it was pretty simple and delicious. The husband even wants me to make it again!

I didn't follow one recipe. I read several and kinda combined them all. For guidelines I looked here, here and here.

Mostly I followed the recipe below except where noted. It is going to be made again soon.

Ingredients

• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed *(see note)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 and 1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 16 oz), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15-ounce can tomatoes (with juice)
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 cup arborio rice **(see note)
• 1 4 oz jar artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup bottled roasted red pepper (about two large pieces), cut into strips ***(see note)

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add shrimp and sauté until pink and curled, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, season and set aside.
2. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan. Add chicken and sauté until lightly browned on the outside and opaque inside, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and season.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the skillet. Add pepper and onions; sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic for last 2 minutes so it doesn't burn.
4. Stir in tomatoes and crushed red pepper; simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
5. Add rice and stir to coat well with the tomato mixture. Stir in the reserved chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Gently stir artichoke hearts, peas, and the reserved shrimp and chicken into the rice mixture.
7. Cover and cook until the rice is tender and the shrimp and chicken are heated through, 5 to 10 minutes longer. (Stir occasionally to prevent scorching, if necessary.) Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Note: *I found out how expensive saffron was and said no way. I found pre-seasoned rice with saffron and used it. It was just shy of a cup so I added some more white rice to make the measurement.
**I could not find arborio rice. Also see previous note.
***Though I can roast peppers, I was not in the mood to roast one, so I just added it to the pot with the onions and had no problems.