Let’s be clear, this isn’t REALLY Paella. I’ve had Paella, in Spain no less, and this wasn’t close. BUT, this was really good and used up a lot of our leftovers. In the end, my wife and I both enjoyed it very much and I’d for sure make this again. Super easy.

It started off with a comment I made to my wife which she took the wrong way. We make Vigo brand low sodium yellow rice often. It is easy to make, really good and goes with tacos. The problem is, that little bag of dried rice makes a lot of leftovers. Even after we’ve eaten on it twice there are still leftovers. I made a comment to my wife once basically saying how we waste so much of the rice and it was a shame. So my wife said, “Well, we could make a Paella.” I didn’t give it much though until we were both stumped on what to make for dinner. So based on her idea, I invented the Lazy Leftover Paella.

Ingredients

• Leftover Vigo Low Sodium yellow rice (2-4 cups)
• Half a leftover rotisserie chicken, chopped
• 1 leftover link of Spanish chorizo, chopped
• 1/2 bag of leftover frozen mix vegetables
• 1-2 cups leftover low sodium beef stock
• 8-10 frozen shrimp, thawed
• 2 tbsp Creole seasoning
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to cook the shrimp.
2. Season the shrimp liberally with the seasoning and cook the shrimp until almost done. Remove and set aside.
3. Add more oil if needed and add the chopped chorizo. Cook until crispy and add the chicken. Toss to combine and cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the frozen vegetables loss to combine and cook a few more minutes.
5. Add the rice and toss to combine. The vegetables will still not be completely thawed. Cook for a few more minutes and add the beef stock. Increase the heat tossing occasionally and they compacting the rice mixture to allow the stock to steam through.
6. Add the shrimp to the top of the mixture and allow the steam to complete the cooking process. Season with more the Creole seasoning to taste. Enjoy.