Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

We celebrated Fat Tuesday for 2 reasons. One it was Fat Tuesday and the second our “house for sale” is sold. We are happy as can be. By the way, it only took 3 years. Anyway after spending the day making dog food, I really wanted to have our New Orleans style Jambalaya. I also bought a King Cake while at Giant. Surprisingly it was very good. The Jambalaya was the best I have ever tasted. I got the recipe out of March Bon Appetite. Do to the fact this is not New Orleans, I had to make some adjustments in ingredients. The recipe serves 10. That would be 10 football players. It was easy to cut in half as long as you understand that a recipe is irrelevant to most in LA. This is not French cooking. Our half I thought was gigantic, but Jim said if we had 3 that ate like him and 2 of me, it would be perfect. No one eats as much as Jim and stays that thin.
Ingredients:
12 oz applewood-smoked bacon, diced
1 ½ # smoked fully cooked sausage such as linguica, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into ½ “ thick semi-circles. (I had to buy a very dry and cooked chorizo. I did not make semi circles but whole circles.
1 pound andouille sausage quartered lengthwise and cut into ½” cubes. (Again I just cut in half inch circles. I also used 12 oz instead of the 8 oz for my half recipe.)
¼ # tasso or smoked ham. I used Black Forest smoked ham. Cut into ½” cubes.
1 ½ # chopped onions, 4-5 cups.
2 large celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
6 large boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 ½” pieces (out of the freezer, yah!)
2 T paprika
1 T chopped fresh thyme. (I used dried, use 1/3red less when converting fresh to dry)
1 T chili powder
¼ t cayenne pepper
3 10 oz cans of diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 ½ C beef broth
3 C long-grain white rice
8 green onions, chopped
Chopped fresh Italian parsley
Directions:
1. I love the way the ingredients are listed in this recipe as that is the way the ingredients are added to the pot. I used a very large deep 14” skillet with a lid and oven proof handle. Treat like a Chinese meal and chop, slice and dice everything before you turn on the stove.
2. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
3. Cook the bacon in a very large pot over medium-high heat until brown but not yet crisp, stirring often 8-10 minutes.
4. Add smoked sausage, andouille and ham. Sauté until meats start to brown in spots, about 10 minutes.
5. Add onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, stirring occasionally, 10-12 minutes
6. Mix in the chicken. Cook until outside of chicken turns white, stirring often, 5-6 minutes.
7. Mix in the paprika, thyme, chili powder, and cayenne. Cook 1 minute
8. Add diced tomatoes with chilies and broth; stir to blend well.
9. Mix in rice.
10. Bring to a boil. Cover pot, and place in oven and bake until rice is tender and liquids are absorbed, about 45 minutes.
11. Uncover pot and mix in chopped green onions. Sprinkle the pot with chopped parsley and serve.
Jim served a Zindandel that went great with the meal.