How's your Momma an dem? Jambalaya.

One of my favorite dishes. Easy, spicy and so very satisfying.  Jambalaya is a true American mutt. Some French a little Spanish a touch of African and a whole lot of necessity caused this dish to be. So easy to make it's almost foolproof. If you don't have all the ingredients, don't worry. You can add or subtract at will. 

I have Cajun blackening powder listed. I usually have it pre-made and store it in a small container and refill as needed. It's not really measured out just go with what feels right to you. 

MISE EN PLACE

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 pound chopped andouille sausage
1 cup chopped leftover ham
3-4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless cut into 2 inch pieces 
2 TB cajun blackening powder (paprika, fine salt, cayenne, dry thyme, black pepper, cumin, dry oregano,chili powder, ground black pepper)
1 large onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups tomato puree
2 cups chicken stock
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

* I also included about 6 IQF shelled shrimp (20-30), I had some in the freezer

Now the basis of Cajun cooking is the use of "the holy trinity" which includes green pepper, celery and onion. The ratio is typically 2 parts onion to one part each of celery and pepper.
If you want to adjust this go right ahead.
Once all of your ingredients are gathered together and prepped it's time to start cooking. Ready? I timed this and from beginning of prep to removal from the oven was about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Doesn't get much easier than that.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Heat up your pot with the butter and oil in it. Add your sausage and chicken, lightly brown off.

Add your holy trinity and a big pinch of salt and pepper, sweat for a minute, add your blackening powder and one bay leaf. Sweat for another minute. Add rice and stir gently to coat. 

Add your tomato puree and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Do not stir aggressively at this point. The rice now is very brittle and if you stir roughly you will end up with something that looks like red oatmeal.

Once simmering, put your pot in the oven covered until rice is completely cooked, about 20 minutes or so. Again, do not stir.
Once rice is tender, remove from oven and let sit on top of stove for about 5 minutes. At this point I added my IQF shrimp which had already been cooked off. 

Serve with a hunk of good crusty bread and some Tobasco Sauce if you want to turn the heat up.
That's it, easy right? 
 Go get your grub on. Ciao.