Quick week-day one hour Jambalaya

This was actually a Sunday Family Dinner recipe, but it turned out so good and was so quick, I'll make it on a weekday next time. We always have some sort of sausage in the freezer, and with the addition of a few basic veggies from the fridge - a delish dinner with lots of leftovers is 45 minutes away.

Normally recipes call for Andouille sausage and fiery spices, but there isn't any reason you can't just use Farmer sausage like what happened to be in our freezer. I toned way down the fiery seasoning as well so SSO wouldn't melt. It may not be Jambalaya but it sure tastes awesome. I actually used the "Emeril's Essence" seasoning I've had in my cupboard for a longtime but never paid attention to. I did a bit of googling and turns out it is simply a Creole seasoning mix - a basic combination of paprika, onion powder, pepper, cayenne, oregano, and a couple of other things.

Quick week-day one hour Jambalaya

Next Time: not much I would do differently

Me: 10/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 5/10


Quick week-day one hour Jambalaya
Ingredients

• 6 sausages, sliced into 1/4" rounds. Traditionally smoked sausage like Andouille, but you can use whatever is in your freezer, you just have to cook it up as a first step.
• 15-20 medium sized shrimp, larger uncooked preferably
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 large celery ribs, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 sm can tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken broth, homemade if you have it
• 2-3 tsp Emeril's Essence (or a few shakes each of onion powder, paprika, pepper, oregano, cayenne, and thyme)
• 1 cup rice
• salt to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, cook up the sausage in a bit of oil if it is not smoked. While the sausage is cooking, chop up the veggies. Transfer the cooked sausage to a holding bowl. Don't worry about the browned bits yet, we'll be scraping it up later.
2.  Cook up the onions, celery, and garlic in a bit of oil until softened. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and season with the spices. Add the broth, and bring to a boil.
3. Turn down to a simmer, and add the rice. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn the heat off but leave in place covered until the rice absorbs water and is no longer hard. There should be enough stuff in the pot to keep the whole thing plenty hot.