South Beach Chicken Paella

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup whole-grain, qick cooking brown rice
• 3/4 cup roasted red bell peppers (from a jar), drained and thinly sliced
• 2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Make 4 (1 1/2-cup) Servings

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and onion; cook, stirring often, until onion is softetened, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in rice. Add red peppers, broth and saffron; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. If paella has excess moisture, cook uncovered 3 -5 minutes. Stir in parsely, seaspn to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 8 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. Paella is the official dish of Spain and there are many versions of paella. As I've said before, a little saffron goes a long way lending pugent flavor and color to the dish. I've always loved chicken and rice for dinner growing up and this chicken and rice dinner adds bold new flavors to this comfort food. Even though the recipe calls for brown rice, I highly recommend using Bobma rice for that authentic Spanish flavor. Bomba rice is the rice that is used in traditional Paellas. You could also add a little white wine for a little cosmopolitan flavor as well.