Jambalaya

Hello! I hope everyone had a terrific weekend. Jeff got home on Friday night, so I made us some quick Cheesesteaks piled high with onions and shrooms...holy yum.

Saturday, my sister and mom flew in town for my bridal shower! We headed over to Megan's house for the festivities.

There were LOTS of fun appetizers. Proscuitto, goat cheese, and fig jam bruscetta...

Santa Crackers with pepperoni, capers, and cream cheese...

Red velvet cupcakes...

And lots more!  Mel and Meg did such a great job with the spread.

Some of the girls :)

I had a little helper with the gifts, too.

Sweet Maya was there!

We had a great time. It was nice to have a girls night and catch up before the holidays!

Last night, I made a big, comforting pot of Jambalaya. It was so, so cold outside, and this seemed like the perfect dish to warm us up. I used a Cooking Light recipe, but added some chicken and more hot sauce. Of course :)

Start by cooking your veggies and sausage.

Once they are soft, add in your chicken and cook through, then add in all the spices, bay leaf, and the rice.

Once your rice is nice and toasted, add in your liquids. Make sure to use unsalted tomatoes, as salted would be way too much with the sausage.

Bring the liquids to a boil, then turn the heat to med-low, cover, and let simmer for at least 20 minutes. It took about 30 minutes for my rice to be cooked through. Next, add in your shrimp. I used frozen, raw shrimp from Whole Foods in this.

Normally, I am not a fan of frozen seafood- especially frozen, COOKED shrimp. They are like rubber! These were different, though. Because they were raw, they cooked through in the jambalaya really well. I didn't even thaw them.

You can adjust your seasoning at the end, when the liquid is absorbed. I added some cajun seasoning, a little more hot sauce, and some black pepper. Delish!

 JAMBALAYA

 Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1  tablespoon  minced garlic
• 6  ounces  andouille sausage, sliced
• 3 chicken cutlets, sliced
• 1  cup  uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1  teaspoon  paprika
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon  onion powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic salt
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4  cup  water
• 1  tablespoon  tomato paste
• 1/2  teaspoon  hot pepper sauce
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2  pound  peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced garlic, and sausage; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add in chicken and cook through.

Add rice and the next 7 ingredients (through bay leaf); cook 2 minutes. Add broth, water, tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley.