Mike's Pantry Paella

We had some beautiful *huge* shrimp and some fresh sausage from Seattle's Pike Place Market that we wanted to cook for dinner, so here's what my husband did with them. He put together a sort of paella from foods we had in the veggie bin and pantry. It was absolutely delicious!!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1⁄2 cups  chopped red onions
• 4  ounces  sliced mushrooms
• 2  stalks celery, sliced
• 1⁄2 cup  sliced cucumber (or in half-moon slices, preferred)
• 1⁄2 cup  roughly chopped  roasted red pepper (from the jar is fine)
• 1⁄2 cup  marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1⁄3 cup  halved pitted large green olives
• 3  large garlic cloves, pressed
• 2  cups converted rice (such as Uncle Ben's)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  generous good quality saffron thread
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2  cajun-spiced fresh sausages (about 3/4 pound)
• 13 1⁄2 ounces  peeled tomatoes, drained
• 6  cups chicken broth
• 4  super-jumbo shrimp (approx 1 1/3 pound)
• 3  scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions

1. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil into very large skillet (a paella pan is best) and add the chopped red onion, sauté until partially browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat and add mushrooms and celery and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add the diced cucumber to the mushroom mixture and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add mushroom mixture into the onion mixture in the large skillet, along with roasted red pepper, artichoke, olives, garlic, rice, saffron, and salt and pepper (to taste), and sauté for 7 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in another pan (you can use the one from the mushroom mixture), sauté the fresh sausage until browned, about 5 minutes.
6. Add browned sausage, tomatoes, and broth to the large skillet, stir and simmer for 5 minutes (do NOT stir after this point).
7. Top mixture with the shrimp and scallions and simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the rice is done and the super-jumbo shrimp are pink and cooked through - you can cover it for the last 5 minutes to help the shrimp cook through, if necessary.
8. Serve immediately.