Chris's Jambalaya

Chicken, Andouille Smoked Sausage and Tasso Jambalaya

From "Hot & Spicy Recipes"

[My (Chris') comments are in brackets.]

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ lb. tasso or other smoked ham, diced
½ lb. andouille smoked sausage or other smoked pork sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices [I like to use ground sausage]
¾ lb. boneless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. Chef Paul Prudhomme's "Poultry Magic"
1 cu. chopped onions, divided
1 cu. chopped celery, divided
1 cu. chopped green bell peppers, divided
1 tbsp. minced garlic
½ cu. canned tomato sauce
1 cu. peeled, chopped tomatoes
2½ cu. chicken stock or water
1½ cu. uncooked (converted ) rice

Directions:

- Melt butter into a 4-qt. saucepan over high heat. Add tasso and andouille sausage; cook until meat starts to brown, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping pan bottom well. [Many Jambalaya recipes say that the little burned parts of sausage, chicken, and other ingredients that form on the bottom of the pan and get scraped into the mix add an authentic cajun flavor to the dish. If you have a well seasoned, cast-iron pot this adds a lot to the flavor of the dish.]

- Add chicken; continue cooking until chicken is brown, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scrapping pan bottom as needed.

- Stir in bay leaves, Poultry Magic and ½ cu. each of onions, celery and bell pepper; add garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring and scraping pan bottom frequently.

- Stir in tomato sauce and cook about 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in remaining onions, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in stock and rice; mix well.

- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, over very low heat until rice is tender but still chewy, about 30 minutes. (If you prefer to finish the dish by baking it once stock and rice are added, transfer mixture to an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan and bake, uncovered at 350º F until rice is tender but still chewy, about 1 hour).

- Stir well; remove bay leaves. Let sit, uncovered, 5 minutes before serving. [Many Jambalaya recipes advise to let the Jambalaya sit in the fridge overnight in the pot to let the flavor develop more fully and to permeate the rice.]

- To serve, arrange 2 heaping ½ cu. mounds of rice on each serving place for main dish; allow heaping ½ cu. for an appetizer. Makes 6 main dish servings or 12 appetizer servings.

Banana Pancakes

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 bananas

powdered sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Mix first 6 ingredients in a batter bowl until smooth (should be milkshake-consistency.) Ladle onto hot griddle using about 1/2 cup for each pancake. Immediately slice banannas over pancake, allowing the slices to sink into the batter before batter sets up. When pancakes are bubbly and not shiny around the edges, flip them so they can cook banana-side-down.

Serve with powdered sugar sifted over top.

Since Delish closed down, I've had to make my own Chicken Satay. This recipe is not the same as Delish's, but I like it a lot. In fact, it's in my "heavy rotation" spot in my recipe box. I found this on Allrecipes.

Indonesian Satay

Submitted by: Estherlita Santoso Rated: 5 out of 5 by 122 members
Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour Yields: 6 servings



INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cumin
6 skinless, boneless chicken
breast halves - cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
skewers



DIRECTIONS:



1.In a bowl, mix soy sauce, tomato sauce, peanut oil, garlic, black pepper, and cumin. Place chicken into the mixture, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, but not overnight. This will make the meat too dark.



2.Preheat the grill for high heat.



3.Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Mix in water, peanut butter, soy sauce, and sugar. Cook and stir until well blended. Remove from heat, mix in lemon juice, and set aside.



4.Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill skewers about 5 minutes per side, until chicken juices run clear. Serve with the peanut sauce.

Peggy's Trifle

2 packages of sugar free White Chocolate pudding, made according to directions on the box
1 tub fat-free whipped cream
1 prepared Angel Food cake
fruit (whatever's in season.)

Prepare the pudding according to package directions. Let it set up. Fold tub of whipped cream into pudding.

In a large glass bowl, layer chunks of cake with pudding, then fruit -- repeat until all ingredients are in the bowl. Chill and serve.