Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

Need a little bit of spice in your meal plan? If so, give this shrimp and sausage jambalaya a try. This recipe is very much like jambalaya we would eat in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and any time of the year. Hope you like it! 

homemade jambalaya 

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

Servings:  6-8

Ingredients:      

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound of The Original Brat Hans® Spicy Andouille Chicken Sausage, sliced

1 pound smoked ham, cubed

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup diced celery

1 green bell pepper, cored and diced

1 red bell pepper, cored and diced

1 cup seeded and diced tomato

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons diced fresh oregano

1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme

2 tablespoons tomato paste

6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

3 cups long-grain rice, rinsed

3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 to 8 dashes hot sauce, optional (recommended: Tabasco)

1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pound medium shrimp, deveined (20 to 24 count)

Instructions:     

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or black iron pot over medium heat, add the kielbasa and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the kielbasa to a bowl, and set aside. Add the ham to the same pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to the bowl with the kielbasa, and set aside. Add the butter, onion, celery and peppers to the same pot and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato, garlic, jalapeno or cayenne, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste and cook until all the vegetables and herbs are blended well. Add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the rice, and add the sausage, ham, bay leaves, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the scallions, 1/4 cup of the parsley, the lemon juice and the shrimp, and stir well. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat and allow the jambalaya steam, for 15 minutes, before serving.

Garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup scallions and 1/2 cup parsley, and a dash of hot sauce, if desired.

The Original Brat Hans® sausages are made from all-natural meats, which mean NO ANTIBIOTICS, NO ADDED HORMONES, and NO PRESERVATIVES...EVER! This also means NO NITRATES, NITRITES or MSG. They shared this recipe with me.