Guest Post: Easy Sausage Jambalaya

If any of you have had a baby, you'll know that the last thing you want to do immediately after is cook.  This recipe was created the week after I had my little guy last year when nobody wanted to cook. Okay, who am I kidding? I never want to cook unless the recipe calls for at least a cup of sugar. Luckily, one my husband's favorite things to do is cook, and he's one of those people that can look into a fridge and come up with a delicious recipe out of thin air. Like this one.

I'll be honest, I've never actually had jambalaya. I've only heard great things about it from my uncle who lived in New Orleans for two years and apparently makes a mean jambalaya. Most of the time it includes onions, which is a no-go for this girl, so I've just stayed away from it altogether. Not anymore. This jambalaya is one of my favorite things that my husband makes, and he makes a lot of great food.

The recipe calls for just carrots and celery, but you can add any veggies that you'd like. My husband eats his with tomatoes and red peppers, two more things I don't really like. What can I say? We're pretty much opposites when it comes to food, but we both love this dish. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

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Easy Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1- 1 lb. package smoke sausage ¼ diced and ¾ sliced into rounds
• 3 medium carrots peeled and diced
• 4 celery stalks diced
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon parsley
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon kofte mix - we bought ours from Turkey but you can make it at home with this recipe
• 1 ½ cups white long-grain rice, rinsed and dried
• 3 cups chicken broth

Instructions

1. Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Add the sausage rounds (keep the diced sausage for later) and cook until browned and carmelized. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to leave the drippings behind.
3. Add the carrots, celery, and diced sausage and cook until slightly browned and softened, about 4 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, salt, and dried spices to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the rice to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the rice is done.
7. Remove the lid and stir in the sausage and serve.

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