From Leftovers To Paella

Paella has always been a poor man’s or working man’s food. It originated in Valencia, Spain, somewhere between the 14th and 15th centuries, as a practical way to feed their families and workers using ingredients from the countryside. It was made with whatever was available, so it changed all the time.

I had a whole bunch of little bits of this and little bits of that that needed to be cleared from my fridge, including A LOT of leftover pineapple, shrimp fried rice Pineapple, Shrimp Fried Rice, so what do I do with all my leftovers? The Queen and I put on our thinking caps and decided a quick and easy paella would be the best solution. As usual, I now have more of what I made with my leftovers that I had before I started. Larry is always amazed at how I make my leftovers grow into more than what I started with, and I do it on a a regular basis too. 🙂

My quick and easy paella from leftovers was LOADED with all kinds of stuff. Other than the addition of some fresh vegetables and more large shrimp, most of it was from leftovers.

I had a little leftover Costco rotisserie chicken, a couple of hot links, bacon wrapped shrimp, a little prosciutto, my fried rice, and left over pieces of red bell peppers. Then I added some green beans, fresh herbs and tomatoes to complete the dish.

Since most everything was already cooked, I started off by cooking the shrimp in some olive oil and red chili oil until it was cooked. Once it was pink, I removed it from the heat and seat it aside until I was ready for it again.

I boiled the beans, then cut them up for later. After removing the cooked shrimp, it was time to saute the peppers, onions and garlic.

Once those were softened, it was time to add everything else, mix it all together and let everything else heat up.

This was a quick and easy Spanish meal made mostly from all different kinds of leftovers. To make it even more authentically Spanish, I added some warmed bread and a cool crisp Pinot Grigio and we dined al fresco, on our beloved and much used deck overlooking our lakes. !Esta mui delicioso y fantastico! !Que Bueno!

Leftovers often get a bad rap, but with a little creativity and imagination, they can take center plate and be recreated into culinary works of art. Have fun. Play with your food. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.