Leslie Boyd's Paella

A few nights ago, we had the best paella we've ever eaten in our lives...again. It had been several months since Leslie & Michael Boyd invited us over to sample this old family recipe, and we were extremely lucky enough to be invited over to eat it all over again. Leslie says she'll be e-mailing me the recipe....can't wait to share it here.

And now, here's the next weekend news anchor team:

This handsome couple? It's Alexa McCauley & Pablo Boyd, who got along famously as the adults shoveled Leslie's magical paella into their mouths.

UPDATE 3/21/08:

Hey y'all! I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this recipe to you. We loved the recipe blog. So now, you must add my recipe! And the picture of Alexa and Pablo is simply priceless!!! Thank you so much for coming over...we must eat together again very soon! Happy Easter! Love, Leslie

Paella a la Chilena (or Chilean Paella)

Recipe from Leslie “la Chilena” Boyd (based on my Chilean grandfather Emilio's family recipe). You can substitute scallops for shrimp, and use pork fillets for the sausage, if you like. Play around with it to suit your taste! You know it is done when all the mussels have opened, and there should a nice crispy layer of saffron-infused rice along the bottom of the pan. Feeds up to 10 people….Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 20-25 mussel shells (about 1 ¼ lbs.), thoroughly rinsed & cleaned
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8-10 chicken legs
• 1 lb. Beef sausage, cut into 1-inch thick slices
• 2 onions (large, chunky pieces)
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 cups white rice (Arborio is preferred)
• 3 cups hot chicken broth
• 1 phial saffron filaments (4-6 threads), infused into the hot chicken broth
• 1 ½ -2 green or red bell peppers (large, chunky pieces)
• 2-3 cups large mushrooms, halved
• 1 ½ -2 lbs. shrimp, shelledSalt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 325°F

Rinse and clean mussel shells thoroughly; refrigerate until ready to use later.

In a frypan, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil.

Fry chicken legs until golden brown, and sausage slices; reserve.

Heat remaining oil.

Sautee onion and bell pepper in hot oil for 5 minutes.

Add garlic and rice; make sure rice is well coated with oil.

Pour in chicken broth with infused saffron.

Transfer into a large oven-proof dish.

Add mushrooms, reserved chicken legs, and sausage.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes.

Mix in shrimp and reserved mussels.Bake for 15-20 minutes more. Make sure all mussels have opened. Discard any unopened mussels after cooking.

Linda Mullen's EZ Classic Lasagna

Back when Michele and I worked at KVUE-TV, a co-worker of ours shared this fantastic and incredibly easy recipe for a quite tasty lasagna. It's one of our favorite and most-used recipes.

Ingredients

16 oz cottage cheese (small curd)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 eggs
2 (26-oz) jars pasta sauce (your favorite)
1 (1 lb) package lasagna noodles
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Italian seasonsing (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
Optional - 1 lb. sausage or gournd beef, cooked and drained

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cottage cheese, parmesan, eggs and seasoning (add salt and pepper to taste). On bottom of a 13x9x2 greased baking dish, spread 1 cup of the sauce. Top with a layer of uncooked noodles, then cottage cheese mixture, meat and finally mozzarella. Add more sauce - spread it out and repeat layers as many times as you have "stuff" left. End with a layer of mozzarella. Cover with foil. Bake 1 hour or until bubbly (I like it when the cheese browns a little, as in the picture above). Let stand covered 15 minutes before serving.

Number of servings: Linda says "8 big" but Michele and I beg to differ. (Burrrrp.)