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!

Clam Sauce Spaghetti

This is one of my go-to meals for a weeknight when I'm tired and need something easy.  It's simple, creamy, delicious pasta that fills those hungry bellies and makes people want to know how you're so amazing. 

You Need:

2 T. olive oil
1 bunch green onions
2 c. white wine
1 pint cream
1 can sliced olives
2 cans chopped or whole clams, drained
Spaghetti noodles (I use about 10 ounces for my family.)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Cut the green ends of the green onions into 2-inch pieces.  Heat in the olive oil.

Remove the green onions from the oil when browned.  They'll look like this:

Discard these onions.  These just help to begin the flavor of the sauce to develop.

Pour in the 2 cups of white wine.

Let simmer on medium heat until it is reduced by half and it turns cloudy.

Start your water for the noodles now.  Cook them according to package directions.  By the time they are cooked, the sauce should be ready.  Quickly whisk in the cream.  Simmer on medium until thickened.  The bubbles will start to get bigger as the sauce gets thicker.

 

 Slice the green onions that are left (the white parts).  Add the green onions, olives, and drained clams to the cream sauce. 

Drain the pasta and coat with the sauce.

Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Here's the whole plate of deliciousness.

Here's a close-up of the sauce-y noodles and good stuff.  This is a happy, loving, comfort food that will make you feel warm and fuzzy all over.