Real Life Recipes

Easy Jambalaya
As prepared by Teresa of the 2008 Milk Calendar

Easy Jambalaya (February 2008)

With little effort this rice dish provides all four food groups and wonderful flavours. It is pleasantly mild but you can increase the Cajun seasoning if you like more spice.

1 cup             long-grain white rice                
4 oz            lean smoked turkey sausages, sliced         
                  (or 1 cup/250 mL diced lean smoked ham)
3                stalks celery, sliced            
1                onion, chopped               
1ÿ2 cup      water                        
2 tbsp         all-purpose flour               
1 tbsp         Cajun seasoning                 
21ÿ2 cups   Milk                        
1 each,       small sweet green and red pepper, chopped   
1 can (19 oz/540 mL)     stewed tomatoes, drained and chopped if large

Salt
Fresh Italian parsley (optional)

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add rice, sausage, celery and onion; cook, stirring, for 2 min. Add water. Whisk flour and Cajun seasoning into Milk; gradually stir into skillet. Bring just to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer gently for 15 to 20 min or until rice is almost tender.

2. Gently stir in green and red peppers; cover and simmer for 5 min longer or until rice is tender and peppers are tender-crisp. Remove from heat.

3. Sprinkle tomatoes over rice mixture; cover and let stand for 5 min. Stir gently to combine and season with salt to taste. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 to 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Cooking Tip: To use brown rice in place of white, in a saucepan, bring rice and 2 cups (500 mL) water to a boil; simmer for 12 min. Drain well and proceed with Step 1, adding partially cooked rice after Milk mixture.

For the Adventurous: Add 8 oz (250 g) shrimp, peeled and deveined and 1 cup (250 mL) frozen sliced okra (thawed) in step 2 with peppers.