CuteChick Recipe #8- Jambalaya!!!!

Happy Thursday everyone!! I thought I'd hit you guys w/ a recipe for my jambalya :-)  It's actually not too difficult to make & sooo good! TRUST ME! You're not going to use the box kind again! I normally use shrimp & smoked sausage, but you may certainly substitute w/ chicken, crawfish, scallops or any other flavored sausage. The secret of this recipe is to use stock/broth  instead of plain water. Seafood or chicken flavor works really well. I made a quick seafood stock this time. All I did was boil the discarded shrimp shells w/ some garlic & onion powder, celery salt & bay leaf in a small saucepan for about 20 minutes & then let it simmer for about an hour. You can definitely do this way ahead of time & just freeze it until you're ready to use it. 

Here's the finished product. I served fried tilapia & broccoli alongside it for a complete meal. 

Ingredients

3/4 lb. of shrimp (cleaned, peeled & deviened)

1/2 lb. of sliced smoked sausage ( I used beef)

1 cup chopped celery (I didn't have any this go around, but try not to skip this if you don't have to)

1 diced medium yellow onion

1 diced green pepper (I used a red one as well since I didn't have celery but you don't have to)

1 15oz can diced tomato

3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 cups rice (I recommend parboiled)

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

3 cups seafood stock (chicken flavored works well also or just plain water)

3-4 tablespoons of creole seasoning 

1 stick of unsalted butter

Creole Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme 

What you want to do first is clean the shrimp & season w/ about 1 tablespoon of the creole seasoning & set aside.

Here's what your seasoning mixture should look like...if you want to make a spicier dish, add about 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes. 

 In a large deep skillet, melt your butter over medium high heat and sautee the onions, peppers & celery for about 15 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes along w/ the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the creole seasoning and the worcestershire sauce. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. It should look something like this.

Add your sausage sausage & cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and mix thoroughly as shown below.

Add your liquid and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Once it begins to boil, reduce heat to a very low simmer and cover. Let it cook for a good 15-20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Add your shrimp as shown below, mix thoroughly & place lid back on the pan.

 Let cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the rice as set & liquid is just about all absorbed. Your dish is done! You may certainly serve it as suggested above, or alone w/ cornbread is really good too! Enjoy!!!