Jambalaya

Jambalaya! One of my favorite meals, Jambalaya is easy to make and if you double this recipe you can have enough for a couple of dinners. Which is always a good thing with everyone being so busy these days, again you’re looking at about one hour cooking time.
The first time I had Jambalaya was back in 1993. I had the pleasure of working at a bar that hosted a Crawfish Boil every year, and Jambalaya was one of the side dishes. Their recipe called for about one hundred pounds of the stuff, the place was always packed for this event. It was a great time and I always looked forward to it. The recipe I’m giving you makes two main course meals or four appetizers, like I said above if you double the amounts it makes for great left-over’s, two meals for the price of one. Enjoy!
Jambalaya
Pork fat- 2 tablespoons
Olive oil- 2 tablespoons
Jalapeño- 2 tablespoons (minced, optional)
Onions- 1 cup (small diced)
Green Peppers- 1 cup (small diced)
Garlic- 1 tablespoon (minced)
Andouille Sausage- 1 ¼ cup (medium diced) you can substitute Kielbasa.
Chicken- 1 cup (medium diced)
Rice- 2 cups
Diced tomatoes- 1 can or 14.5 ounces
Tomato sauce- 1 can 8 ounce
Chicken broth- 2 ½ cups
Salt & pepper- to taste
Green onions- ½ cup plus ¼ cup to garnish
Bay leaves- 2
Salt- 1 ½ teaspoon
Oregano- 1 ½ teaspoon
White pepper- 1 teaspoon
Black pepper- 1 teaspoon
Thyme- ½ teaspoon
Cayenne Pepper- ½ teaspoon (optional)
Method to the Madness
1) Combine the Bay leaves, salt, Oregano, White pepper, Black pepper Thyme, and Cayenne in a mixing bowl and set aside. Heat the pork fat and Olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium high heat, add the sausage and render for 5-8 minutes until browned. Stir frequently. Add the onions, peppers and sauté for 5 minutes, stir occasionally scraping bottom for the pan. Add the chicken, raise the heat to high and cook for one minute, stirring the entire time.
2) Reduce the heat back to medium add the seasonings and garlic cook for 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook for 6 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil. Then stir in ½ cup of green onions and simmer for two minutes. Add the rice; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Fluff with a fork season with salt & pepper, and serve. Garnish with the green onions.
3) ENJOY!