Thursday, January 23, 2020

Jambalaya!

This is such a wonderful one-pot dish and it's now a new favorite around here.

This recipe is easy and I've used various sausages and it came out great... and I've done it without shrimp and it came out great, but I love that Southern one pot of great stuff tradition so that's what I'm going with here.

I saw a Zatarains commercial.

That's what got me started.

It looked so good, which only shows you the power of advertising because now I'm making Jambalaya and loving it.  And this happened last Thursday.... Farmer Dave hit a big deer on our road and it spelled the END of my 2012 Chevy Cruze....

Rosie the car being taken away.....

It was a good car.

But neither the deer, nor the car came out well after that encounter.

But Dave wasn't hurt, and that's always the part that matters. Everything else is replaceable. Not people!



I started with a basic online recipe and tweaked with what I had on hand.

2 tablespoons olive oil (any oil works, and coconut oil works well, too)

1 large chicken breast, cleaned and chopped
1/2 pound sausage (Andouille, Polish, Italian, Summer sausage, Salami) chopped
3 or 4 large shrimp per person
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 sweet onion, chopped
1 large or 2 slim stalks celery, chopped
1 rounded Tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic or 1teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 16 oz. can peeled, chopped tomatoes (can use crushed, I like the chunks)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 1/4 cups Chicken broth (I used the 2.25 cups water mixed with Tone's Chicken Base)

In large frying pan or Dutch Oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Brown sausage gently. Lift away to side dish to hold. Repeat with chicken, sprinkled with Cajun seasoning.



Add other tablespoon of oil. Saute veggies until crisp-tender, not overdone.


Add can of tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper. You can add hot sauce, if desired. I'm kind of a baby when it comes to too much spice, so I go a little gentler than most.



Heat for about five minutes.

Add Chicken broth and rice, then heat to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for ten minutes. Add shrimp, cook for about ten minutes more.



 This week I did it again and I added frozen corn for a spot of sweet color... And it was still marvelous!

And then there's this, on shelves for one more week!!!!  At Walmart, Winn Dixie, Kroger, Harris Teeter, wherever mass market paperbacks are sold.... and it's such a lovely book. A story that touches hearts and souls, my friends.


 And here is a link to Amazon if that's easier.... LINK TO AMAZON

I love one pot meals and this one was a people pleaser, and easily one I'd make for a crowd for a main dish or a really fulfilling side dish.... Maybe for the big game day coming up?

Sending you snowy blessings from Western New York!

USA Today bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne is holed up in WNY at this very moment, penning a mystery for Guideposts while she contemplates the fate of a brand new set of protagonists in a new small town! She loves making up stories and not getting into trouble for making up stories is Pure Bonus!!!! Email her at loganherne@gmail.com, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or visit and friend her on facebook.... it's her fave social media!

4 comments:

  1. The power of advertising!

    This looks like something I would try and love. A bit of spice, a bit of robust flavor...

    Like you, we tend to cook on the mild side of spices. I recently tried a recipe for Buffalo chicken something that called for 1/2 cup of hot sauce. Yes, 1/2 cup. I used two teaspoons and we could eat it...but didn't like it. I need to keep to milder flavors. It must be my Swiss German heritage and my Yankee upbringing!

    That recipe won't be shared here at the cafe. LOL!

    Too bad about Rosie the car, but I'm so glad Dave is all right!

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  2. Hmm...I have all of the ingredients for this on hand. I might need to give it a whirl this weekend.

    And the book. If any of you have not read it, you need to. This is such a wonderful story full of lovable characters.

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  3. Yum Yum Yum. I want to be in New Orleans!

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  4. I might try this. I don't have the ingredients--though close. No sausage...and we're gluten free here but I think, except for maybe Worchestershire sauce--I need to check that--this would be okay.

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