Jambalaya- Hot links, Chicken & Shrimp

I've been driving my husband crazy for a week... well, probably longer, but this one is food related!

I bought this huge bag of Louisiana Hot link sausages at Costco last week, and every time he opens the fridge, he says "when are you going to make something with these?". I bought them them for a group thing that I didn't end up needing them for, so now, I've got a lot of Hot Links to get through, luckily I have a bunch of ideas to use them up.

This is a great one pot recipe to do for a small dinner party, and it's very, very easy.  It tastes pretty authentic to me, but I am not a New Orleans native, so I will have to ask my buddy Frank. Authentic or not, it is a crowd pleaser!

Serves about 6

Ingredients:
2-3 Tbsp Olive oil

4 hot links/smoked sausage , sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

2 med onions, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped (I like yellow, orange or red peppers)

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2-3 Tbsp crushed garlic

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1/2- 1 Tbsp dried thyme leaf

4 large dried bay leaves

1 Tbsp black pepper

1/4- 1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce, or to taste.
      If you use Tabasco, use less!

4 oz tomato paste (2/3 of a small can)

1 15oz. can of diced tomatoes, plus juice

2 1/4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

1 lb peeled, deveined & peeled shrimp

Preheat oven to 350°F and adjust your oven racks so that you can get your big pot in there.

In a 6-quart or 8-quart stock pot, (making sure to chose one that has a lid!) saute the onion until it's translucent,  then add the bell pepper and the celery.  Cook until they soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the sliced sausages and the chicken, stirring it until the chicken starts to look cooked, about another 5 minutes.  Don't worry about getting it fully cooked... you've got a lot more cooking to be done.  It will be fully cooked by the time you are done!

Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in garlic, oregano, thyme, bay leaves and black pepper, and stir 1-2 minutes. Add hot sauce, tomato paste and tomatoes. Stir to combine, and cover. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Uncover, add chicken stock, and bring to the boil. Turn off heat, and stir in the rice.

Cover the pot, and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour.

Stir in the raw shrimp about 5 minutes before it's done, re-cover and add back to the oven to finish cooking.  If it looks dry when you add the shrimp, you can add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken stock.

Let the mixture sit for about 5-6 minutes before you serve it.

This is an easy recipe to double for a big group, but you are going to need a big pan, or do it in two pans.  Make sure they fit into your oven first... just saying!

Side Dish Inspirations

This is a full meal on it’s own, you probably only need a salad and maybe some bread:

• Green Salad
• French bread

What else would this technique work on???

You could easily change the meat in this recipe, here's some ideas.

• Substitute Ham for one of the ingredients, Chicken, Ham and prawns would be tasty and not as spicy.
• If you don't have Seafood lovers in your family, just use Ham, Hot links and Chicken!