Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Cheater's Jambalaya



So... I like jambalaya. I mean I don't know many people who don't like a good jambalaya. I do not, however, like a brown jambalaya. I like a good red tomato jambalaya like my Mawmaw used to make. This being said... I can cook anything out there, but I am an absolute epic failure at jambalaya. I am 37 years old, and I still call my mama to make jambalaya for me.

A few weeks ago I had extra kids at the house playing, and I had to feed the whole bunch for lunch. So what does a good Cajun woman do? She starts pulling stuff out the pantry and throwing it in a pot making things up as she goes along. I wound up making a rice mixture that is basically a jambalaya, but the rice is cooked separately and stirred in for you other jambalaya challenged people. This is a very tomatoey tasting jambalaya, but it's very close to what my Mawmaw Tasi used to make. Of course she used to cook her rice IN her jambalaya. Feel free to substitute chicken or shrimp and sausage instead of ground meat.

Cheater's Jambalaya

2 lbs ground meat
1 large onion
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
5 to 6 healthy dashes Louisiana hot sauce
4 to 5 healthy dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/3 can Campbell's beef broth
1/2 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups rice

Cook 3 cups rice in a rice cooker and set aside.

Brown ground meat in onions and drain. Add ground meat back to pot. Add remaining ingredients to meat and cook down for about 20 to 30 minutes on a low heat until sauce reaches a paste consistency. Once this is cooked stir in your cooked rice until all blended. Serve with vegetable of your choice. Voila! Cheater's jambalaya!

As you can see it's even served on Cajun Cookware aka paper plates ;-)