Easy Jambalaya

I love jambalaya.  It's so yummy and a great warm meal for these cool fall nights.  It'll warm you right up and make your family feel loved.  Big bonus:  This will have you eating in about 30 minutes!

You Need:

4 cups rice
1/2 lb. chicken breasts
1 smoked sausage
1/2-1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 12 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can condensed French onion soup
1-3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 cup butter

 Heat about 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large skillet.  Dice the chicken breasts and sausage into smaller-than-bite-sized pieces.  Cut each shrimp in half.  Begin browning the chicken in the skillet.

Start cooking the rice according to package directions.  I am sure you could use Minute Rice, but I never have, so I don't know quite how that goes. 

Once the chicken is browned, add the sausage.  Let it brown until it gets kind of puffy and carmelized.  While these are browning, dice the onion and the green pepper.

Add the diced green pepper and onion.

Let all of this work together in the pan for a few minutes, until the onion and green pepper start to get soft and you can really start to smell them. 

Now, add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, and French onion soup.  Cut the butter into several pieces, and add that too. Add the Cajun seasoning a teaspoon at a time, tasting it as it is mixed in.  I usually add about 2 teaspoons of the brand pictured above.  Then I let it cook for a few minutes and taste it to see where I am spice-wise.  However, all brands of seasoning are different.  I have another brand that I only use about 1 teaspoon of because it is super spicy.  Taste as you go!

 Stir to combine.  Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret:  I love this sauce:

Tastefully Simple's Bayou Bourbon Glaze.  It's Bayou.  It's Bourbon.  It screams to be in jambalaya. You can order this sauce from this website:  www.tastefullysimple.com/web/catchley or email me cynthiattchley@gmail.com to find out more about Tastefully Simple.
I add about 1/4 cup to my sauce.  It just takes the sauce to the next level.  SO YUMMY!

After the sauce has simmered for a bit, and the butter has melted, add the shrimp and corn to the sauce.  (Your rice should have about 5 minutes left at this point, if you are using regular white rice.)  Let the corn and the shrimp heat up.  You can thicken the sauce a bit with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons cold water, if you would like it thicker.  I like it juicier so that it really soaks into the rice. 

Serve a big scoop of rice with lots of jambalaya goodness on top.  We like this with corn bread and honey.  Enjoy!  It's delicious!

At my house, this feeds mom, 3 kids, 2 hungry working men (my hubby and brother), with enough for lunch leftovers for mom, dad, and brother the next day.  If you wanted to make a big batch of the jambalaya, it would freeze very well so that on a busy day, all you'd have to do is cook the rice and re-heat the jambalaya.  Hope you like it!

Green Bean Rice Pilaf

My kids love this side dish.  They think it's awsome to have rice, noodles, and green beans all together.  I love this side dish paired with something that has a sauce to go on top.  Sauces just make it much better.

You Need:

3 T. butter
1 c. rice
1 c. spaghetti noodles broken into small pieces OR 1 c. Orzo pasta
2 c. chicken stock
1 c. water
1 c. green beans (fresh or frozen)


In a pot, melt the butter.  Add the rice and pasta.

Cook in the butter until the rice begins to turn a golden color.

Add the chicken stock and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low or medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Add the green beans (I was going to cut the whole beans to 1 inch long, but I found some French-cut green beans, and I used those instead.).

Stir gently to incorporate, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

Serve alongside just about anything, but I served it with Chicken in Creamy Sauce.  It's so yummy with sauce on top.

Coconut Rice

This is a nice variation of a basic white rice.  For this recipe, I have only used white rice, so I don't know how it would work with brown.  Also, I don't cook Minute Rice, so I don't know how that would turn out.  This is a really nice side with any Asian or Indian food.  The coconut is mild and adds an exotic creaminess to the dish.  It is not sweet, so the rice will pair well with any savory dish.

You Need:

2 c. white rice (pearl, Jasmine, Basamati)
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk (light coconut milk works well too)
1 1/4 c. water--APPROXIMATELY

In a medium pot, measure in the rice.  Open the can of coconut milk.  If it looks solid when you open it, that's ok.  Scrape the solids into a separate bowl and pour the rest of the contents of the can into the bowl.  Mix with a fork until the milk solids and liquid are together again.

You need 3 cups of liquid for 2 cups of rice.  So, measure the coconut milk, then supplement whatever is missing with water.  It ends up being about 1 1/4  cups of water, but check to make sure.  I don't measure often, but rice needs measurements.  Pour the liquid onto the rice.

Bring the rice and liquid to a bubble on the stove. 

Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.  Just trust it.  Don't lift the lid or stir. 

After 20 minutes, fluff with a fork.  Serve immediately with whatever dish you'd like.  We liked it with the Beef Stir-Fry.