We had not gone shopping for a while and we were running low on items in our pantry. Actually, we virtually had nothing to eat in the house and it was getting close to dinnertime. My wife kept pestering me for dinner but I was low on ideas and had no ambition for cooking. I thought of just suggesting take-out. But, after contemplating a little bit, I suggested jambalaya to my wife and she agreed that it was something we could make.  The thought of trying my hand at jambalaya perked my interest enough to get me off the couch and into the kitchen.

 

Jamabalaya is basically a creole version of paella, consisting of several meats and seafoods and rice. It is a very simple dish to make, with lots of flavor. On this particular night I realized the we had most of the needed ingredients to make a respectable chicken and sausage jambalaya.

Here is a list of the ingredients I had on hand to make this dish:

2-3 lbs of chicken breast with bone
1 lbs of smoked sausage
olive oil
Paprika
an onion
A green pepper
several celery stalks
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of uncooked rice
thyme
a bay leaf
cayenne pepper
a dash of Lea & Perrins' Worcestershire Sauce (optional)

And here is the process I use for making the jambalaya:

 

Trim the bone from the chicken breast. I always save the chicken bones. These bones will make a fine chicken broth for future use. You can freeze the bones for future use in a soup, or you can make a broth for this dish.

 

Coated each breast with paprika, and saute them in a little olive oil. Heat the oil just below the smoking point so that the breasts blacken up real nice on each side. Olive oil has a low smoking point, so not much heat is needed.  Lower the heat and allow the chicken to cook through.

When the breasts are cooked, remove from heat and set aside. Save the meat drippings, by placing them into a large pot.

 

Dice the sausage and vegetables.  Place the garlic in the meat drippings into the pot and saute. Add onion, celery and saute some more.  Dice the chicken breast and add them to the pot. Then add the peppers, a can of diced tomatoes, the chicken broth, a bay leaf, and bring to a boil.  Then add the remaining spices. If you like it spicy, then add a little extra cayenne pepper. You can also add hot pepper sauce here.  I added a dash of Lea & Perrins' but this is not needed.

Once you have a good boil add 2 cups of uncooked rice.  Cover and place the heat on the lowest setting.  Keep the pot covered for at least 20 minutes and do not stir, or else you will end up with crunchy rice. After 20 minutes, fluff the rice.  If you have shrimp, then toss them in the pot too, and let them cook for a few minutes.  

Do not use Uncle Ben's minute rice.  Get the real rice that comes in a bag.  It lasts forever, tastes better, and is much cheaper.

The trick to making a good jambalaya is using the correct amount of liquid to cook the rice. The best way to get it right is to use equal amounts of rice to liquid.  Thus of you have 2 cups of broth, then use 2 cups or uncooked rice. Remember to include the liquid in the canned tomatoes.

I was pleased with how this dish turned out. It was missing shrimp, and that is one thing I will definately add to the pot in the future, just as the rice is completing. I had this as leftovers for lunch the next day, and it tasted even better.  This is one of the dishes that always taste better the next day, as the spice get more chance to flavor the food.