Easy Jambalaya

So last week, while everybody was busy working on preparing their Thanksgiving dinners, I actually came up with my own Jambalaya Recipe which turned out to be very easy and very yummy.  After living in New Orleans for a few years, I often crave cajun food and although I have not been brave enough to make a true New Orleans Gumbo (you know, the one that is really dark brown, almost black, with whole crabs in it…yum) I am happy to say that I did master the Jambalaya. 

It is a one pot dish, very easy to make it and you can modify the heat/spices as you see fit. 

Enjoy! 

Jambalaya Ingredients

• 8 Medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined - I used 8 because there are only two of us, but you can modify amount and shrimp size to suit your taste
• 8 ounces chicken breast, diced – about 1 large chicken breast
• 7 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced – I ended up using 1 smoked turkey sausage because I was trying to make it healthier but you can go with the traditional Andouille, of even better, be brave, do smoked alligator…yum!
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 hot banana peppers
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups long grain rice
• 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 can tomato sauce, (8 oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz) – our preferred brand is Tutorosso but any brand will do.
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Jambalaya spice mix (recipe to follow)

Jambalaya Spice Mix –

     You can prepare this mix ahead of time and store in a zip lock bag to save you some time.  

• 3 TBS dried minced onion
• 1 TBS dried parsley
• 1/2 TBS dried thyme
• 1/2 TSP garlic powder
• 1/2 TSP paprika
• 1 TSP ground black pepper
• 1/2 TSP cayenne Pepper – Add more if you like HOT HOT HOT!
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1 envelope of Goya Sazon with Coriander and Annatto – you can find it in most grocery stores where other Goya products are sold. If you cant find it, just omit from recipe. 

Instructions:

If you have not already done so, prep all of your ingredients first: chop the veggies and make the jambalaya spice mix.  It makes life easier later, trust me. 

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In large Dutch oven or “cacerola” like we say back home in Puerto Rico, saute minced garlic in olive oil for 1 minute. Add sliced sausage and cubed chicken and saute for an additional 3 minutes. 

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Add onions, red bell pepper, celery, banana peppers, rice, broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and Jambalaya spice Mix to pot.  Mix well and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

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After the 20 minutes are up, mix in shrimp and cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes or until shrimp is pink.  Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and herb garnish as desired.  Easy breezy and even leftovers are super yummy.  Enjoy!