Pronto Paella

One of the Christmas gifts I got from my Grandma was a subscription to Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious. Last night, I tried my first recipe from there, and I'm SO pleased with it, I thought I'd share it. The magazine tells me that this recipe is a frugal $3.63 per serving, but as I already has several of the ingredients on hand, I'm not sure what I spent on the ingredients, so I can't tell you how accurate that was for me.

1 pkg (6.09 oz) rice pilaf
1 1/2 cups ready-to-use grilled chicken breast strips
1 medium sweet onion, cut into wedges
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 t. Cajun seasoning
3 T. butter
1 can (11 oz.) Mexicorn, drained
1 pkg (9 oz) frozen baby peas, thawed
1/2 lb. cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Microwave rice pilaf, according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the chicken, onion, garlic, and Cajun seasoning in butter until onion is tender.

Stir in the corn, peas, shrimp, and prepared pilaf; heat through.

Yield: 4 servings.

Substitutions I made: I forgot to get the Mexicorn at the store yesterday, which made me sad. I didn't have Cajun seasoning (which is weird), so I threw in some cayenne pepper, some black pepper, and some red pepper flakes. Finally, I didn't have garlic cloves, so I put in a crapload of ground garlic.

Oh, one other minor substitution - instead of the chicken breast strips, I used canned chicken from Trader Joe's because I had a can leftover from something else I was going to make one time. Actually, I'd probably do this every time I make this since I prefer cubed chicken to chicken strips, anyway.

I'm still sad about the missing corn, though. :(