Jambalaya

What a delicious, spicy, hearty and filling meal this is! Jambalaya is packed full of beautiful, fresh ingredients, and a wonderful trio of sausage, shrimp, and chicken.

We adore cajun / creole food in this house, though I admit I really don't cook it all that often! One of my favorite things about dishes like this tasty Jambalaya is that it just gets better with time! It tastes even more delicious on day 2, when the flavors have had a good chance to settle and meld, so leftovers are a huge bonus! I actually doubled this recipe and made 2 pots at the same time, so we would have plenty of leftovers to eat for a couple days after.

We've been trying to go through some of the odds and ends in the freezer, and I had pulled out a package of smoked and andouille sausage, and had about 3 lbs of chicken thighs thawed so it worked well to just double this and plan for leftovers. I don't really like planning on making leftovers, because it's fun for me to have an excuse to get in the kitchen and cook up something new every chance I get - but I will make an exception for Jambalaya!

Jambalaya

Ingredients
3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
2-3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, (more / less to your heat and taste preferences)
14 ounces andouille or smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
1 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
1 onion diced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 TBS minced garlic (jarred)
1 14-oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
8-oz Gumbo Mix frozen vegetables (or just okra)
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 - 1 pound raw shrimp (tails off, peeled and deveined)

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat 1 TBS of the oil and saute the sausage until browned on both sides. When browned, scoop meat out and place in a bowl. Add additional oil to the pot if needed, and then brown the chicken, add a teaspoon of the creole seasoning to the chicken while browning. Scoop out the chicken and add to the bowl with the sausage.
2. If needed, add additional oil to the pot and add in the diced onion, bell pepper, and celery, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Add the minced garlic and stir for about a minute, until fragrant. 
3. Add back in the browned meat and any accumulated juices, canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, Tabasco, Worcestershire, additional 1 tsp creole seasoning (more / less to taste), and mixed frozen vegetables. Stir to combine and simmer for about 5 minutes. 
4. Add in the uncooked white rice and chicken broth.
5. Cover and simmer on low for about 15-25 minutes, checking and stirring every 5 minutes or so, until the rice is cooked and liquid is mostly absorbed. If it cooks too fast and liquid absorbs too quickly, add a little additional broth if needed.
6. Add the shrimp in once rice is tender, stirring gently to incorporate them into the mixture and cover again - cooking about 5 minutes until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
7. Taste, and adjust seasonings if needed.

Recipe from Cafe Delites