Jambalaya

Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 pound of bacon, chopped
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1″ cubes
1-1/2 pounds smoked sausage, diced
3 onions, diced
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
5 stalks of celery, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1-1/2 Tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 pounds cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

Instructions:

Heat a large stock pot cook on medium high. Cook the bacon until slightly crisp. Pull the bacon out to drain, and set aside. Make sure you leave the fatty oil in the pot. Oh yes. You will need that.

Now add the chicken (still on medium high) and the smoked sausage – cook until the chicken is browned. Add the onion and cook until carmelized a bit.

Then add the bell peppers, celery and garlic. Cook until softened, just about 5 minutes.

Add the thyme, bay leaf, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and celery seed. Cook and stir well, about 4 minutes.

Turn up the heat to high and add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 30+ minutes. Check and stir now and again, you really want the flavors to mix up.

Remember that bacon you cooked and set aside? Yeah, throw that back in and while you’re at it add the shrimp and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve over rice and you are ready to EAT! (Also goes REALLY good with Sweet Cornbread Muffins…)