Everything Jambalaya

I have wanted to make jambalaya for a while, but my husband is a picky eater and doesn't really like veggies. Well, he got a sinus infection and can't really taste or smell food so I thought it would be a perfect time to make it. I pulled up Food Network and was looking at Emeril's recipes, too hard, so I then went to Rachael Ray's recipes and found this recipe. I tweaked it a little bit to fit our tastes. We don't like shrimp so I left those out and I didn't have some of the spices and was not in the mood to buy them. It worked out great though. It was very filling and we had lots of leftovers.

2 cups enriched white rice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound boneless, skinless white or dark meat chicken

3/4 pound andouille, casing removed and diced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

Several drops hot sauce or 2 pinches cayenne pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons (a handful) all-purpose flour

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice

1(14-ounce) can or paper container chicken stock or broth

1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) cumin

1 rounded teaspoon (1/2 palmful) dark chili powder

1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 pound medium shrimp, raw, deveined and peeled (ask for easy peel at fish counter)

Coarse salt and black pepper

Chopped scallions, for garnish

Fresh thyme, chopped for garnish

Cook rice to package directions. Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Cube chicken and place in hot oil and butter. Brown chicken 3 minutes, add sausage, and cook 2 minutes more. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay, and cayenne. Saute vegetables 5 minutes, sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cumin, chili, poultry seasoning, and Worcestershire. Bring liquids to a boil and add shrimp. Simmer shrimp 5 minutes until pink and firm. Remove the pot from the heat and place on a trivet. Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls. Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of rice on to the center of the bowlfuls of jambalaya. Sprinkle dishes with salt, pepper, chopped scallions, and thyme leaves.

Side Note: I bought a package of rice that took 15 minutes to make. Since you are not cooking the rice in the food, you could use a quick cooking rice to speed things up.