New Recipe: "Quick" Jambalaya

I lost my jambalaya recipe. It was really tasty and I forgave its use of instant rice because of that. I thought it would be a good dinner to try again as it would yield plenty of leftovers for lunch (or repurposed for other dinners). I searched the internet for a recipe that wouldn't be super time consuming but would be super tasty. Martha Stewart's website had a "quick" version that I used. It was tasty and yielded plenty of dinner with leftovers for 4 lunches (or 2 each for 2 people). Not too shabby. Luckily I had a bunch of the ingredients on hand, which made this a fairly inexpensive dish. I would do it again. I might change out the meats I used to get a little cray or go all veg for a healthier choice.

Pros to this recipe?
-Fairly quick to make. You can prep as things are cooking.
-Easy to make vegetarian or to fit dietary restrictions and or allergies.
-Even though you are cooking bell peppers FOR EVER, the entire pot doesn't smell like them or taste of them (Low Level of Pepper Infiltration).
-The yield is unbelievable (see breakdown below).
-Easy to repurpose.
-Low cost. Uses a lot of pantry staples.

Cons?
-The rice didn't cook evenly but it didn't effect the overall taste.

Bonus?
I ONLY USED ONE COOKING VESSEL.

Here's how you do it:


Ingredients

• Oil. I used a little EVOO, but any you have it totes fine.
• 1 lb skinless chicken breast halves. I used 2 whole breasts from the freezer.
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed/seeded, finely chopped
• 1 lb Andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces. I got Chicken Andouille.
• 2 garlic cloves, minced.
• 2 cups of home made or low sodium chicken stock
• 3/4 teaspoon of Old Bay. I don't stock Old Bay at home so I used Cajun seasoning
• 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes. I had a 14 oz can of diced and used that instead. DON'T DRAIN!
• 1 cup of long grain rice
• Salt and pepper
• Optional: other "traditional" jambalaya meats are tasso ham and/or shrimp.
• Also Optional: hot sauce. I put in a few dashes to amp up the spice.

Steps

-Heat oil over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper (or if you are feeling fancy: Salt, Pepper, Cajun Seasoning, and Garlic Powder). Add chicken to hot pan.


-Cook chicken until golden brown, ~5 minutes per side.


-Cut into 3/4 inch pieces and set aside. (I cut them before cooking. Whichever you prefer!)

-Add cut veggies and cook, stirring, for ~5 minutes.

 

 

-Add sausage and cook mixture for ~3 minutes. ( I cooked this a few minutes longer to try to develop some caramelization)

 

-Stir in stock, Old Bay, Tomatoes, and Water. Bring to a boil.

    





Ooooh, a Three-fer

 

 

-Add rice and chicken. Reduce to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.

 

 

-Cover and remove from heat. Let stand until rice is tendah and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 30-35 minutes. Season to taste.

 

 

This beaut is the almost finished product.

 

 

How this meal was used:

 

Lunches: 4 fairly large portions.

Dinners: 4 fairly large portions.

Uses/Repurposes: Night of dinner - as it was/served with tortillas/one burrito. A second dinner was created for one by reheating and adding over easy eggs on top (because yolks make everything better). Lunches - as it was.

 

 

8 meals achieved from one recipe. If I was better at portioning, I would assume 10 could be achieved.

 

 

Not too shabby. I would do it again. In fact, The Husband has requested I do.