Jambalaya

It's hard with young children to find a meal that everyone readily eats.  And since my kids all like sausage and rice, I decided to try to make Jambalaya.  Not authentic, obviously, since I don't like shrimp, but I found a recipe that used chicken instead.

Actually, this is the 3rd recipe I've tried, and this one seems to have hit the sweet spot.  Everyone eats most of it, and nobody gets angry when I put it on their plate.

The recipe called for cooked chicken.  I just cut up raw chicken and sautéed it, and followed the recipe from there. (except I left out the celery and parsley.  Celery because I didn't have any, and parley because I didn't have fresh parsley and I didn't feel like reaching up into the back of my cabinet where my dried stuff got shoved)

• 1 lb. cooked chicken
• 1 lb. smoked sausage
• 4 cloves garlic
• 12 oz. seasoning mix (onion, bell pepper, celery)
• 2 cups long grain rice
• ½ to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3.5 cups water
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 2 whole bay leaves
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ bunch parsley
• to taste salt and pepper

1. Slice the sausage and cook in a large pot over medium heat until thoroughly cooked (about 5 minutes). Don’t worry if the drippings begin to stick and coat the bottom of the pan, it will be deglazed later. Remove the cooked meat (leaving the fat/drippings in the pan) and set it aside for later.

1. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the pot with the meat drippings and cook until soft (about 3-5 minutes). The moisture from the vegetables should loosen anything stuck to the bottom of the pan from the meat (all of that flavorful good stuff).

1. Once the vegetables have softened, add the dry rice, cayenne pepper and tomato paste. Stir it all together and cook for approximately 1 minute more. This will allow the tomato paste to caramelize and the rice to toast just slightly.

1. Add 3.5 cups of water, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, fresh cracked pepper (about 20 cranks) and salt (about ½ tsp). Stir it together, then add the meat back into the pot. Bring it up to a simmer, add a lid and reduce the heat to low. Allow the pot to simmer on low until all of the moisture has been absorbed by the rice (about 30 minutes). Stir in the chopped parsley and serve.

I served it with green beans and garlic bread

Pizza

This is not a "lazy day" dinner.  Homemade pizza takes too much energy.

My belief is that a great pizza starts with a great crust.  I got this recipe from my Betty Crocker Cookbook, but I tweaked it.  It makes 2 crusts.

2 1/2 to 3 c. flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) regular or quick active dry yeast
3 tbsp olive oil
1 c. very warm water (120* to 130*f)

(my additions)
garlic powder
oregano
basil
marjoram

Mix one cup of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl.  Add in the garlic, oregano, basil, and marjoram (I don't measure, I just dump it in and mix until it looks herby enough).  Add the olive oil and water.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping the bowl frequently. (I admit, I mix it with a wooden spoon.  It's too much energy to take out the mixer and then wash it after)  Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is oft and leaves sides of bowl.  Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead 5 to 8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425*  Divide dough in half.  Pat each half into a 12-inch circle on a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan.  Partially bake 7 to 8 minutes or until crust just begins to brown.  Add toppings and bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I topped this one with classico tomato & basil sauce, Galaxy Nutritional Foods mozzarella style rice shreds, cooked & crumbled turkey sausage, olives (on 1/2) and green peppers.

Penne with Sausage and Escarole

This recipe has long been one of my family's favorites (the fonts aren't showing up right on my screen any time you see 12 or 14, it's actually 1/2 or 1/4).  I usually make it with spinach because, well, I haven't been able to find escarole.  But I found some this last shopping trip, so I decided to try it since that's what was called for. And I prefer the spinach. It's got more flavor.  This time I also didn't add any salt or black pepper, because I think that the sausage has more than enough salt in it to go around.

My kids couldn't get enough.  The only reason there was any leftover is because I specifically pulled some out so Matt could take some to work if he wanted.  The kids kept going until I told them there wasn't any more.

Summer vegetables with sausage and potatoes

I used this recipe.  Since it was my first time making it, I stuck pretty close to it.  I used turkey sausage instead of chicken, though, because the only chicken I could find was hot Italian  and I really didn't want the hotness.  I checked the packaging of the sausage, and it was gluten free, so here's another accidentally gluten free meal!

Aren't the veggies pretty?? I love colorful food.