Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
The first time I had jambalaya was at a wedding reception for my cousin. My mom’s whole side of the family is Cajun, so whenever there are get-togethers, you can be sure there will be plenty of Cajun food. Ever since that night, I’ve loved jambalaya.
Husby asked me to make it the other day, and I was disappointed to find that pretty much every pre-packaged jambalaya mix has gluten in it. Luckily, I remembered that a few weeks back, Leanne had shared several Cajun recipes with me, from a cookbook she found at her old home in Louisiana. One of these was jambalaya!
THE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
I have changed up the recipe a bit to suit my own taste and cooking style, but if you would like to see the original recipe (complete with a whole chicken), it is here: the original chicken and sausage jambalaya recipe.
Kelley’s Version
1 pound smoked beef or turkey sausage
1 pound grilled chicken breasts
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (I love the Muir Glen brand)
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cans Swanson chicken broth
1 teaspoon basil
1 bay leaf
2 cups uncooked rice
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
hot pepper sauce, to taste
1. Cook the sausage according to package directions and slice into bite-sized pieces. Cook the chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.
2. In a large saucepan, pour the broth and add the sausage and chicken. Set burner to a medium setting.
3. Add in the onion, tomatoes, celery, basil, bay leaf, salt, cayenne, and hot sauce.
4. Cook for a few minutes and then add the rice.
5. Bring to a boil and then set the burner on a very low setting. Cover and let simmer for about an hour.
6. Add the parsley and green onions. Continue cooking until rice is tender. Add more salt, pepper, or hot sauce as needed. I cook mine about 15 minutes after adding this.