52 Band Wagon

I am always late to a party, but always lots of fun when I get there!

My dear friend Brandi from Will Blog For Shoes is rounding up 52 new things she is trying in 2010. This is week 7 and I am just now joining.

This past week, I made Jambalaya for the first time ever. Can I tell you that it was yummy, if I do say so myself. In fact, my dinner tonight will be the last of the leftovers. Can't wait.

So not my picture, but this is what mine looked like minus the parsley.

 

This is a Southern Living Recipe. Actually, I changed it a bit, and will make the notes in parenthesis below. 

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  butter or margarine
• 1  large onion, chopped
• 1  green bell pepper, chopped
• 8  green onions, chopped
• 2  celery ribs, chopped
• 1 lb  cubed cooked ham (I used chicken, it's what I had)
• 1  pound  Cajun-flavored or smoked sausage, sliced (( used regular, not spicy, we are wimps)
• 1  (8-ounce) can tomato sauce ( I ended up using 2 cans)
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt (For the salt and ground peppers I used a Cajun seasoning)
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 5  cups  cooked rice (Way too much rice, I think two cups of "real" rice is plenty, but I used three)
• Garnishes: fresh parsley sprig, chopped fresh parsley (umm, yeah, I didn't do this)

Preparation

Melt butter in a large skillet (a really, really big skillet or pot) over medium heat. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; sauté until tender. Add ham (or chicken), sausage, and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
Stir in rice, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes over low heat. Garnish, if desired.

This was good and my entire family enjoyed it. I will make it again. Looking forward to seeing what you have tried new.