Southern goodness.

I'm a firm believer in that no southern home (ok fine, no Louisiana home, ok?) should be without a great jambalaya recipe! And this is just that. I adapted this recipe last year off of one I found on the internet. It's not exactly like it, but it's very similar. I make it about 2x a month. :) So let's get started, shall we?

Cut up your celery, onions, and bell pepper. I use a large knife and cut them in pieces and then use the chopper to get them really small.

Mix all together and place in a bowl and put aside. Here's the cast of ingredients:

(besides the garlic that I forgot to add in the pic) ;)

Get a good size pan, and put a bit of butter and your sausage in it. (ours is deer sausage because it's what I had on hand, you can use whatever kind you prefer!) Brown it for a bit, and then add half of your onion, bell pepper, and celery mix.

Cook for a minute or two and then add your tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, and garlic.

While your ingredients are simmering for a bit, shred your chicken.

Yeah baby! Add your seasonings, chicken, and bay leaves, place it all in a 9x13, and pop it in the oven!

And of course...you need some bread with that jambalaya! What better than some mouthwatering cheddar bay biscuits?! This is a staple in our home, and it's basically a wanna be cheddar bay biscuit from Red Lobster! Of course they do it better, but these are pretty darn tasty!

Mix the milk, bisquick, and cheese together. Then put in an 8x8 greased dish or whatever you have close to that!

Take your jambalaya out of the oven after 45mins to an hour, you judge based on how the rice feels. And enjoy the aroma in your kitchen. So nice!

Stick your biscuits in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes or until you can stick a fork in them and it come out clean.

Microwave your butter and add some garlic powder to it. Then lather it on your biscuits. Don't be shy!

Sit. Serve. Eat.

Love you some southern food.

Oh... and think of me. :)

---------------

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
I thing of sausage diced
1 Cup Onion, Diced
1 Cup Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Cup Celery, Diced
3 Tbsp. Garlic, Minced
1 Cup Tomatoes, Diced (I sometimes use Rotel!)
1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 1/2 Cup Enriched Long grain Rice
couple of chicken breasts boiled & shredded or a rotisserie chicken shredded
1/2 tsp Cayenne, 3/4 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme, 4 Bay Leaves & Tony's to your taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter, saute the sausage until slightly browned. Add 1/2 onion, bell pepper, celery mix,saute until tender. Add tomato, tomato sauce, and the garlic and rice, cook 1 minute. Add the stock, seasoning mix, bay leaves, other half of the onion, pepper and celery mix, and chicken. Stir and place in a 9x13 for 45 minutes to an hour. Be sure to stir it a few times in between.

Here's the blog for the recipe I adapted it from if you're interested! Looks like they have alot of good Louisiana recipes! http://neworleanscuisine.blogspot.com/2005/03/jambalaya.html

--------------------

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

(not the actual ones from Red Lobster, but very close!)

2 cups bisquick

2/3 cup milk

a handful or so of shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp garlic powder

It's that easy! I got this recipe from my mom, and I think she got the recipe online years ago.

I can't really remember back when she didn't make them! We love these in our home!

Happy cooking y'all! :)