Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Chicken Jambalaya

When husband comes home from a business trip I love to prepare a few of his favorite foods. By the time he gets home I’m usually dying to go out to eat but after two weeks of nothing but restaurant meals I know he just really wants a home cooked meal. Oh, the things we do for love.

I’ve been tinkering around with this recipe for a few years. I’ve added, omitted and just down right changed some of the ingredients. I found the original to lack flavor and sometimes I feel that even with my changes it still does. It’s a work in progress in our house but a yummy one.

The original recipe called for a whole chicken that was uncooked. I didn’t want to devote the time to breaking down and cooking a whole chicken. Rotisserie chickens work perfectly in the recipe. If you like to make your own stock be sure to save the carcass after you get the meat off! I decreased the amount of fat, added some zucchini (because I have a ton of it in the freezer) changed the water to chicken stock and tomato puree and added extra meat by doubling the amount of sausage.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different sausages, increase the number of veggies and experiment with seasonings. Sometimes a dash or two of hot sauce can make a big difference. This recipe comes together quickly and is a wonderful one pot meal.

Enjoy!

Whole rotisserie chicken
1 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1 zucchini, grated
½ cup celery, diced
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup tomato puree
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. thyme
¼ cup parsley, chopped
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
14 oz. beef kielbasa, diced
 
Skin, debone and chop rotisserie chicken. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Sauté onion tomatoes, pepper, zucchini and celery until vegetable are soft, about five minutes. Add rice and stir until the rice is well coated in the butter. Add chicken, chicken stock, tomato puree and spices. Simmer until rice is tender about 15 minutes.  Add kielbasa and warm through.

If your jambalaya has too much liquid, simmer for a bit longer or place in a 350 over for 10-15 minutes to dry out.

Adapted from Joy of Cooking – Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker

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