Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

I can honestly say Jambalaya is one of my favorite Cajun dishes. It's ability to be cooked on mass makes it one of the most social dishes. 

On the subject, my friend is holding a Jambalaya Plate Benefit for Corbin Duplechin, a precious little angel that was taken from his parents too soon. You can read the details and how to get involved if you live in the Baton Rouge area on the link above.

So back to the jambalaya. This is one of the dishes that I used to cook from a box mix, Zatarians was my brand of choice. It was fairly good but when I needed to change my diet to less processed this was the first that I started from scratch and I can honestly say that it really doesn't take much more time than the box mix and it tastes a million times better.

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

Prep Time: 1 hour

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

Salt and ground pepper

1 lbs sausage, cut into ¼ inch slices

2 cups chopped onion

1 cups chopped celery

1 cups chopped green bell pepper

1 Tbsp minced garlic

4 cups chicken stock (or water flavored with chicken bouillon)

1 Tbsp Kitchen bouquet (browning agent)

1 Tbsp seasoning salt (I use Tony’s, surprise surprise!)

2.5 cups uncooked long grain white rice

Directions:

 1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to a large Dutch oven or stockpot along with the sausage and cook over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes. If it starts to brown the bottom of the pot don't worry this adds to the color and flavor, just don't let it burn.

2. Remove chicken and sausage from pan; set aside.

3. Add onions, celery, green peppers and garlic; cook, stirring 7 – 10 minutes or until vegetables begin to wilt.

4. Stir in chicken stock, reserved chicken and sausage, Tony's and Kitchen Bouquet.

5. Bring to a boil; add rice and return  to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer.

6. Cook 10 minutes; remove cover and stir. Replace cover and cook 15 – 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

To complete the meal, serve with salad and fresh bread rolls.