Tag: cajun

One Pot Jambalaya

by Gloria W., posted in Recipe
I’ll be the first to admit that my husband is the New Orleans food cook in the house.  His family is from New Orleans and he takes pride in his traditional New Orleans dishes.  He has been making Jambalaya for a while now, usually with fresh shrimp.

Jambalaya Video:

Today my husband made Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, my favorite.  I always think it is like gumbo, a meal that takes a ton of time to cook, but that is far from true.  Jambalaya is easy to prepare and ready in under an hour.  My kind of meal.
 
To start Jambalaya, chop your bell peppers, celery and onions, and sauté the veggies until they’re nice and soft.  Next, add meat.  My husband went with chicken and andouille sausage for this meal but you can use any protein. You can even use the meat from those grocery store roasted chickens. You save so much time with pre-roasted meat.
 
The last step is to pour in crushed tomatoes, broth, seasonings, and rice, and give it a good stir.  Once mixed, cover the Jambalaya and let it simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes. Then VOILA, a one pot meal.

Jambalaya Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
* 10 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
* 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
* 1 onion, diced
* 3 garlic cloves
* 3 bay leaves
* 1 small green bell pepper, diced
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 1 tsp salt and pepper
* 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
* 1 1/4 cups uncooked white rice
* 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

 

Jambalaya Directions:

1. Cut onions, bell peppers and celery. Set aside.

2. Cut chicken and andouille. Set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy cast iron pot over medium heat. Season the sausage and chicken pieces with Cajun seasoning. Saute until browned. Remove with wooden spoon, and set aside. Leave drippings.

4. In the same cast iron pot, saute onion, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves and celery until tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes, and season with pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in chicken and sausage. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

6. When rice is done, spoon jambalaya into a dish.

7. Flavor the jambalaya with additional seasonings to get the right taste/spice/heat level.

8. Enjoy the jambalaya!