Jambalya

On Fat Tuesday Nick made Jambalya for us (great day to have it)!  Was sooo good.

Tonight I had to make it myself since it was soo good the last time.

He based it off this recipe, my changes will be italicized.

Simple and oh so yummy! Just takes some time cleaning the chicken and chopping up the veggies. (OK after loading the picture, I see why people make sure the bowl is clean)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cleaned and cut up into large bite sized pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into circles
• 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, we found that you really need 3 - 3 1/2 cups
• 1 dried bay leaf
• Shrimp, about 1/2 pound, deveined, shelled, etc
• 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• sprinkle of cayenne pepper - depending on how much spice you like
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (we left out since we forgot)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we left out since we forgot)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the Dutch oven and brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Remove to a plate and reserve.

Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and thyme and saute until translucent and sausage is browned, about 8 minutes. (you may want to brown sausages seperately like chicken)

Stir in rice, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and reserved chicken, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook on low, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Last 10ish minutes, add the shrimp, once the rice is almost done since the shrimp does not take long to cook.

Turn off heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Fluff rice with fork and stir in green onions and parsley.