Poor Man's Jambalaya

Thursday?  But you came so soon!   It's been a busy week in this corner of the world, juggling my time between teaching charleston, figuring out when you can be arrested without a warrant (probably more often than you think!), and brushing up on my legal citations (go ahead, ask me anything!).  


I'm definitely ready for the weekend, but at UA Law, a 1L's work is not done yet!  We're ending the week with a career fair.  So, please, please, if you can spare a moment, think good thoughts for me.  It would mean a lot.


Once that hurdle is done, we have a great weekend to look forward to, filled with lots of dancing, wonderful friends, and what is certain to be an exciting game of Fugitive (and maybe even a little homework... ;)).


But about this jambalaya.  It's poorman's jambalaya because I omitted the shrimp, but if you're in the mood to class things up, go for the shrimp!  This recipe is dirt simple.  


Jambalaya
Serves 4
(adapted from Cooking Light)
1 chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
 2 chicken andouille sausages, sliced
1 cup uncooked brown basmatti rice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Cook sausages in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, and minced and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add rice and the next 7 ingredients (through bay leaf); cook 2 minutes. Add broth, water, tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 1 hr and 10 min (until rice is plump.  If you want to cut down the cooking time by about about 40 minutes, use white rice). If using (cooked) shrimp, add it now.  Let stand 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley.