Weight Watchers Paella

I'm a big fan of paella.  I have been since our days in Spain when I tried to order in Spanish and asked the waitress if the paella has fishermen in it instead of asking if it had fish.  Fisherman, I'm sure, would have been a bit tough and gamey.

Anyhow, paella. So good and so flavorful, and soooo fattening.  My favorite paella has sausage in it, and chicken, and saffron, and shrimp, and bits of fish.  This Weight Watchers recipe is really tasty, and only 373 calories per serving.  According to the cookbook, one serving is 1/4 of the dish. that's a lot of paella.

I made a slight modification on the saffron front. I didn't want to afford saffron so I used Sazon rice seasoning. It has a combination of herbs and spices that really adds a  nice touch. I've used it in place of saffron in the past as well.

The other, unfortunate, modification I made was to the shrimp. I had purchase fresh shrimp but when I opened it to use it, it smelled too fishy and I just wasn't sure it was still good. I asked sister in law to bring shrimp. I didn't specify fresh so she brought can shrimp. It disintegrated in the paella.

Oh and I didn't add the mussels.

Paella
Recipe from WW The New Complete Cookbook
Serves 4
PointsPlus value - 9

2 tsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (as you can imagine, I didn't add this)
1 onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 c long grain white rice
1/4 lb thin sliced chicken breasts or tenders
3 c reduced-sodium chicken broth (if you use the Sazon seasoning, its important to use the low sodium for this so the paella isn't too salty)
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on if desired
1/4 tsp black pepper
Pinch of saffron threads
1/2 lb medium mussels, scrubbed and debearded
2 T chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic; cook stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in rice and chicken; cook, stirring, until chicken is golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Stir broth, shrimp, black pepper and saffron into the skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Add mussels to skillet. Cook, covered until all liquid is absorbed and mussels open, about 5 minutes longer. Discard any mussels that do not open. Serve sprinkled with parsley.