sausage jambalaya

sausauge jambalaya

by tijuana, 11/21/2013

i have been wanting to put a jambalaya recipe on my website for sometime now. today, when i forgot to thaw out some meat, i knew it was time. i was going to use the sausage i had in the meat bin in my fridge. for a minute, i considered waiting to make this recipe with chicken thighs in addition to the sausage but i figured, 'why add more cost when i can make it now?' i have to admit, i did not miss the chicken. the sausage did the trick! i contemplated adding only 1 pack of sausage but i thought i would save a sausage scraping fight at the table between my hubby and 2 boys. my girls could honestly care less. but me? yeah, i would be scraping along with the hubby and my boys. and i would win, too. yup. i sure would! lol. anyway, we loved this recipe. i added the amount of heat that was perfect for my family. oh, and the perfect amount of 'meat' too. 🙂

total Time: 50 minutes
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
yield: 6 servings

ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil -
1 tablespoon butter -
2 packages kielbasa sausage - or andouille sausage, chopped into half moons
1 onion - chopped
1/2 bell pepper - chopped
2 stalks celery - chopped
4 cloves of garlic - minced
3/4 teaspoon paprika -
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder -
1/2 teaspoon onion powder -
1/2 teaspoon cumin -
3/4 teaspoon cajun seasoning -
1/4 teaspoon italian seasoning -
2 bay leaves -
1 tablespoon tomato paste -
2 cups long grain rice -
2 (8 ounces) cans tomato sauce -
2 cups chicken stock - bouillon based

instructions:

i used a dutch oven similar to this one below. you can find it here.

preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
heat a dutch oven over high heat. once hot, add the oil and then the butter. carefully add the sausage to the oil and butter mixture.

let the sausage sit for a few minutes, to allow the sausage to brown and caramelize.

toss until sausage is browned and remove from the pan to a plate.

add in the veggies - onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the sausage drippings. sprinkle the seasonings - paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cajun seasoning, italian seasoning and bay leaves (which i added to a bowl) over the veggies along with salt/pepper to taste. add in the tomato paste as well and saute for a couple minutes.

stir in the rice until it is coated with everything in the pot. saute for a few more minutes until the veggies are tender.

add in the liquids - tomato sauce and chicken broth.

add in the reserve sausage.

stir all of the ingredients together and taste the mixture. season with salt/pepper to taste, (if needed) and bring the mixture to a boil.

turn off the heat, cover the pot with the lid and place it in the preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid. wait a few minutes before removing the lid and fluffing the rice.