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Chicken Jambalaya I (M, TNT)
Source: Unknown
Serves: 8 to 10

1/2 bunch celery, diced
1 to 2 large onions, chopped or diced
3 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
Olive oil
Several cloves garlic, chopped (can you ever use too much?)
Bay leaves
1 to 2 large cans tomatoes (whole, crushed by hand)
1 can tomato paste (small can, optional)
1 package beef sausage, sliced in rings (the reduced fat variety works very well too)
1 whole chicken, cut in eighths
Hot sauce, your choice what brand
Worcestershire Sauce (click here for vegetarian Worcestershire recipes)
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Uncooked white rice

In a large pot, sauté the celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and bell peppers in oil. When cooked through, pour in canned tomatoes (somewhat crushed) with all the liquid. Add some Worcestershire--you'll need more than you think. You can add tomato paste in varying amounts, depending how 'tomato-y' you want the final product. We vary it each time. Bring to simmer and add cooked chicken and sausage.

Optional: Lightly brown sliced sausage in a cast iron skillet. This helps get some of the excess fat out and adds texture and taste to the sausage.

In a second pot, boil chicken parts until done in enough water to cover. Reserve all the liquid from boiling!! Pull out the chicken and let cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones and skin, rip to bite-size pieces, and place in the pot with the vegetables and sausage. Pour the chicken stock (it won't be rich, but don't worry!) through a colander placed on top of the vegetable pot to strain out large pieces of fat or skin.

Now you should have a chicken and sausage stew-ish looking product. Let this simmer for a while, maybe 30 minutes. Season to taste with more Worcestershire, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

Add uncooked white rice to pot (use your judgment how much and remember that this is a dish designed to stretch the budget: you'll be serving a hearty meal with not so much meat per person). We use about 3/4 of a 2 lb. box. (1-1/2 lbs.).

Cover pot and simmer until all liquid is absorbed into the rice. Stir to distribute vegetables and meat throughout the rice. Serve with a bottle of hot sauce on the table for people to adjust flavor as desired.

We make this in a Dutch oven pot and the pot is pretty much filled when the rice is done. We serve 8 to 10 for Shabbat dinner, and have leftovers to last us through Wednesday. Don't worry, this tastes even better after a few days. Reheats easily in the microwave; add a little water if needed to moisten rice. Because of the quantity of food made and the moisture/heat retention of a huge, covered pot of rice and meat, we make this Friday afternoon and cut off the flame right before candlelighting. It stays hot and delicious for hours until meal time.

Posted by Chaya Malka

Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A