Hardly Jambalaya

Think of Jambalaya. A few things should pop into your head, like andouille sausage, tomatoes, the trinity (onions, celery, peppers), etc. Well, if I were to make for myself, I would probably try to get it as authentic as possible. However, I cook for my family, so sometimes we sacrifice authenticity for something they like instead. For example, my husband prefers ground sausage in his jambalaya. Also, since he doesn't like warm tomatoes, I skip the canned diced tomatoes and use only tomato paste to get the tomato flavor. With these changes I am not sure I should even call it jambalaya! At any rate, this recipe is a favorite of ours, even with the changes that make not as authentic as it should be.

In a large pot over medium heat, brown 1 lb Jimmy Dean ground sausage. Once browned, remove the sausage from the pot. Leave the fat from sausage in the pot. If there isn't a whole lot of fat left, add 1 tbsp olive oil.

Add your trinity - half an onion diced, 1 red bell pepper diced, 1 green bell pepper diced, and 3 stalks of celery diced. Saute until veggies are soft. Add 1 tbsp minced garlic and cook 1 minute.

Add sausage back into pot.

Add 6 oz tomato paste and stir to combine.

Add Old Bay Seasoning. My sister-in-law introduced me to Old Bay Seasoning and said "Old Bay on everything". We love lots of spicy cajun flavor so I put tons of it in every batch. I recommend starting with just a little bit (think teaspoon) and tasting it to check the spice levels.

Add 32 oz chicken broth. Bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. If you have more time, simmer it for even longer. The longer it simmers, the more rich the flavor will be. But only simmer BEFORE putting in the shrimp.

Turn off heat, and add 1 lb uncooked, peeled shrimp. Shrimp tends to overcook easily so cook it with the heat off, and only until it turns pink and they start curling up into a spiral. If they spiral up really tight, you have most likely overcooked them. 

Serve immediately over prepared rice. Our favorite is jasmine rice.

If you don't want to scroll through all the step-by-step photos for the instructions, see directions below.

***Ingredients***
1 lb Jimmy Dean Ground Sausage
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
6 oz tomato paste
Old Bay seasoning to taste
32 oz chicken broth
1 lb raw shrimp, de-veined, peeled
Rice (for serving)

***Directions***
In a large pot over medium heat, brown Jimmy Dean ground sausage. Once browned, remove the sausage from the pot. Leave fat from sausage in the pot. If there isn't a whole lot of fat left, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion, peppers, and celery. Saute until veggies are soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add sausage back into pot. Add tomato paste and Old Bay seasoning and cook 3 more minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and add shrimp. Shrimp tends to overcook easily so cook it with the heat off, and only until it turns pink and they start curling up into a spiral. Serve immediately over prepared rice.

I would love to know how yours turns out!

Happy cooking!
-Sarah Liz