Shrimp, Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

Well . . . I'm a little late for Fat Tuesday but I saw this recipe by Emily on Clever Housewife and this is the first chance that I have had to give it a try.

I added more hot sauce than the the original recipe called for, added some leftover ground Italian Sausage that I had in my fridge, left out the chopped celery since I forgot to buy it when I was grocery shopping and I used cooked shrimp rather than raw and added it at the last moment.

My husband has always been the chef in our household.  We both worked full-time and we were raising five children along with coaching all of their sports, chauffeuring them around to various friends and activities and trying to keep some semblance of a "clean" home.  But I have always enjoyed cooking and it's time that I started doing more of it!!

So back to the dish at hand.  The prep time was fairly short and easy - the smells while cooking were amazing.   The taste was spicy and savory, and very filling!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups enriched white rice
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless white or dark meat chicken
• 3/4 lb. Andouille sausage, casing removed and diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• Several drops hot sauce or 2 pinches cayenne pepper
• 2-3 Tbsp. (a handful) all-purpose flour
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 (14 oz) can chicken stock or broth
• 1 Tsp. cumin
• 1 rounded Tsp. dark chili powder
• 1 Tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 lb. medium shrimp, raw, deveined and peeled
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• Chopped scallions, for garnish
• Fresh thyme, chopped for garnish

Cook rice to package directions.

Place a large, deep skillet over medium, high heat.  Add oil and butter to the pan.  Cube chicken and dice sausage.

Place chicken in the pan and brown 3 minutes.  Add sausage and cook 2 minutes more.

Add onion, celery, pepper, bay leaf and cayenne.  Saute vegetables 5 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1-2 minutes more, until you have a kind of a roux.

Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cumin, chili powder, poultry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.

Bring liquids to a boil.

Add shrimp and simmer 5 minutes.

Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls.  Place a scoop of rice on to the center of each bowl of jambalaya.  Sprinkle dishes with salt, pepper, chopped scallions and thyme leaves.  Add more hot sauce if more spice is desired.