Jambalaya

Awhile back, my husband got enthralled with the show “Swamp People” awhile back. I would occasionally peer over to see what it was he was so interested in, but mostly I just let him tell me about it. Apparently, sometimes the “swamp people” would also cook things. One episode, they must have referred to “Jambalaya” or something, because Tom started asking about it. I explained how it’s a Cajun dish and it generally has shrimp and beef and chicken and rice in it with a nice smattering of vegetables. Ever since that day, it’s come up in conversation now and again with Tom always being curious how it tasted. On a whim, he requested to make jambalaya today. Well, I don’t usually keep frozen shrimp on hand or fresh for that matter, so I made a jambalaya without it. Let me tell you though, it turned out beautiful! Tom loved it so much, he had three bowl-fulls! 

 

• 2 c uncooked rice
• 4 c water
• 1/8 c turmeric
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 lbs boiled chicken
• 1 lb boiled sausage (mild or hot)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• cayenne pepper
• 1/3 c flour
• 14 oz. diced tomatoes
• 2 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp thyme

In a medium pot, fill halfway with water, and bring to a boil. Add chicken, and let boil. In another medium pot, fill with water and bring sausage to a boil. In the meantime, dice onions and celery. When sausage is cooked thoroughly, remove from pot, and remove skin from sausage. Dice sausage. Set aside.

In a third pot, measure out four cups of water. Add 2 cups of white rice. Add turmeric. Bring to boil, and then reduce to a simmer.

Return to your boiling chicken, check for doneness and meat falling off the bone. Remove from boiling water, and debone chicken. Reserve chicken stock.

In a frying pan, brown the chicken and sausage in 1 tbs of olive oil. Add celery and onions, when onions become translucent, sprinkle with flour and cook two more minutes. Then, add diced tomatoes and juice, chicken stock, cumin, chili, cayenne, bay leaf and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil.

Ladle broth into a bowl and top with a scoop of rice. Enjoy!