It was soooo nice out today! We spent a good portion of our day outside and it was glorious! The nice thing about it is that the bees and wasps haven’t rely made an apearance yet, the pollen is not yet out of control, and it’s not sweltering… so we’ve gotta QUICK get in our “outside enjoyment” in! 🙂
Personally I have a lot of requirements to enjoy being outside. I am kind of high maintenance in that area. The awesome thing was that while I was making this dinner, I put a large bucket of water on the back patio that is right by the kitchen window I had open, turned the hose on, and let the kids play till dinner was done! It was awesome not having them whine at my feet while I was cooking!
Now, let’s be honest… if you know me, you know neither me nor my kids ate this. It was waaayyyy too spicy for the kids, and definitely too spicy for me to have more than a taste. I love my husband though, and was so extremely excited to make this for him! It was worth it too, he LOVED it!
So here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
2 cups chicken broth/vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
4-6 sweet mini peppers, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tablespoon Emeril’s Bayou Blast seasoning
2 (10 oz. Each) cans diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup long grained white jasmine rice
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
Juice of 1 lemon plus 2 tsp lemon zest
4 green onions, sliced
hot sauce to taste
Parsley to garnish if desired

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, add the sausage and cook until browned on both sides, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the onion and peppers and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and Bayou Blast (or similar) seasoning and cook until fragrant, about a minute or so.
Add the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and zest and rice to the sausage and vegetables, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, place lid on pot and simmer until the rice is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened to the desired thickness, about 20-40 minutes.
Add the shrimp and fold in. If your shrimp was thawed, remove pot from heat, place lid on and let sit for 10 minutes until shrimp are cooked through. If shrimp are still frozen, simmer in pot woth rest of jambalaya for 10 minutes on low heat until no longer translucent.
Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste and served topped with the green onions and hot sauce on the side.

This is a spicy one! If you like it to hit ya and clear your sinuses out, this is one for you!
Enjoy!
And now… a quote that speaks to the fact that my husband prefers that I do  not go to Target without him… 🙂

Note: This recipe benefits from more simmer time so if you have the time simmer it for 40 minutes.