Jambalaya

I haven’t been home since June.  I miss my family, the Waffle House, and other Louisiana-y things.  When my dad came to visit last month for the U.S. Open, I had him haul a cooler full of seafood from Tony’s.  I have a freezer full of head-on shrimp and crawfish, so I decided to use some of that Louisiana shrimp to make jambalaya.  I added a ton of chicken because I have been trying to eat more protein as of late. And of course, it’s not jambalaya without andouille sausage.

I kid you not when I say this dish is easy to make.  The most laborious part is chopping the meat and vegetables.  If you can cook rice, you can make this jambalaya! The process is simple. Saute your chopped sausage and boneless, skinless chicken.  Add the holy trinity–onion, bell pepper, and celery–a hallmark of Cajun cooking. Then, add the rice and garlic and toast.  Next, add the diced tomatoes.  Lastly, add your chicken stock, put the top on the pot, and let it cook like rice does–until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.  Lastly, stir in the shrimp and herbs, and adjust the seasoning.  This is weeknight cooking.  You can do it all start to finish in an hour.