Baked Shrimp with Yellow Rice

Sorry I haven't posted lately. I have several posts in the works, so keep watching!
Today was a great cooking day. Somehow my body has gotten used to 6 hours of sleep per night. Don't ask me how I managed that one! Anyway, I woke up half and hour early and made pancakes. 

For those of you that don't know me well, I have always considered pancakes one of my specialties. I had memorized the recipe from an old Fanny Farmer cookbook and it always gets rave reviews. But today I decided to change it up and these pancakes are the best EVER!!! Anyway, I will post that recipe in the near future. I need to get some good pictures.

Tonight, I made up this shrimp with yellow rice dish that is very easy and very tasty. I served it with a simple salad and tostones. Enjoy!

Baked Shrimp with Yellow Rice
(Arroz Amarillo con Camarones)

Olive Oil
1 small Dried Chorizo, diced
1/2 cup Onion, diced
1/4 cup Carrot, diced
1/2 cup fresh Tomato, diced (1 small tomato)
3 cloves of Garlic
1 Bay Leaf
Bijol or Saffron
1 pound Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups Long Grain White Rice, uncooked
4 cups Chicken Stock
Salt

This recipe is best in a pan with a tight lid that can go directly from the stove to oven. I used a large calphalon saute pan, almost like a paella pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the pan over medium heat. Coat the bottom with olive oil (1-2 tablespoons, depending on the size of the pan). Add diced chorizo, diced onion and diced carrot cover and cook for a few minutes until the chorizo starts to brown, the onion is translucent and the carrot begins to soften. Add diced tomato and minced garlic. Lower heat slightly, and cook for 3-4 minutes more.

Meanwhile, rinse 2 cups of rice until water is clear. Add rice to saute pan, along with bay leaf. sprinkle Bijol (annato coloring and seasoning) over the rice or add saffron. The Bijol will turn everything orange. Don't be alarmed. You will need it to be pretty orange for the rice to come out yellow. I just sprinkled it on, so I didn't measure, but I think it was about 1/2 teaspoon.

Add 4 cups of chicken stock. Season with salt, if desired (I used about 1/4 teaspoon).
Bring to a boil. Spread shrimp evenly on top of the rice mixture, cover and put in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until rice is cooked through. If you are using a smaller deeper pan it will probably take a little longer.