Jambalaya--Paella

Jambalaya is a New Orleans creole dish and Paella is a cousin food that originates in Spain. If you've had either one, you know you've had some good eats. This picture is a recipe of my own making that is similar to these two dishes. Two of my golf buddies came down from Seattle and I didn't have the time to make it for them, but here's the recipe that I would like to share with you. It's quite simple.

Ingredients:

White rice

Chicken

Italian saugage

Seafood medley

Onions and garlic, can of chicken broth, can of tomato sauce, and a can of beer.

Spices of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and bijol. Bijol is a coloring condiment that turns the rice to a yellow color.

Most ingredients are likely in your pantry. Here's what I did:

Start by cooking the sausage.  After that is done, pull it out of pan and brown some onions.  Then I pull out the onions and add oil to the pan and I add in a couple cups of rice and stir fry it in the oil.

After stir frying the rice a few minutes, I add back the onions, then chicken broth, diced tomatoes or tomato sauce, water and all the spices listed above. I mix up that witch's brew and then I put in a few pieces of chicken. I just buy a whole chicken cooked at Costco, so I don't have to deal with raw chicken. Then I add back the sausage.

The seafood medley consists of shrimp, mussels, oysters and squid. It comes in a frozen package at Costco for $13. I used 1/4 of the package in making this dish. All I do is spread the mussels, shrimp, squid and oysters on top of all the other ingredients.

After everything is in the dish, I don't do any more stirring. I want the dish to cook and what's ideal is for the rice to have a crust on the outside. Let it cook in it's own spices on low heat and allow all the food to absorb all the flavors. Ten minutes before the dish is served, pour in a can of beer. I like Corona, but my WA state friends probably use Ranier beer:-)

Like I say, it's an easy recipe, and good eats.