I usually begin cooking before Russell gets home from work. When he walks in the door he will always ask me what’s for dinner (he’s normally one hungry husband!). One night when he asked me what we were having I misspoke and said Jambalaya instead of Red Beans and Rice. When I corrected myself his excitement was crushed. Not that Russell doesn’t like red beans and rice, but he was truly excited about having jambalaya. After Russell became so excited about the possibility of having jambalaya for dinner I knew I had to make it for him.
I decided to only use smoked sausage since this was the first time I made jambalaya from scratch; but next time I am going to try including shrimp as well. This turned out wonderful and I will definitely be making it again. The recipe calls for a stovetop and oven safe pot, such as a dutch oven. No worries, if you do not have a pot that can go from the stovetop to the oven you can prepare everything in a skillet and then transfer it to a covered baking dish. It will still turn out wonderfully delicious! :)
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lb to 1 lb (depending on your preference) Smoked Sausage or Shrimp (or a combination of the two)
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
- 3/4 cup long grain white rice
- 1-1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/4 cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large, oven proof covered pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add smoked sausage and cook just until it begins to brown.
Add half of the chopped onion and half of the chopped bell pepper to the sausage. Cook until the onion and pepper begin to soften, then add the tomatoes. Stir to mix and allow to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Add rice and allow to cook an additional 2 minutes.
Add chicken broth, worcestershire sauce, the remaining chopped onion and pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, ground pepper, dried thyme, salt, and parsley.
Place lid on the pan and place in the oven to bake for approximately 30-35 minutes.
Adapted from: Cook Like a Champion: Jambalaya, as seen on Dinner and Dessert who adapted it from Sass and Veracity.
