Shrimp, Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya

I am so excited to be back in the kitchen cooking again.  The renovation was well worth it, but it’s not fun to be without a kitchen (I’ll post after pictures soon, but we still have some finishing touches left).  But the really funny thing is that yesterday, as I was trying to come up with something to make for dinner, I had nothing.  Not a single idea.  I was super excited to cook, but had no idea what to make.  How crazy is that??

Finally, after looking through some magazines, online and thinking about what ingredients I had on hand, I came up with this jambalaya.  And, WOW, it was so good!  It is a one pot wonder.  It was ready in under an hour and had such amazing flavor.  The rice was perfectly tender, the flavor of the chicken, chorizo and sausage were intensified by sauteing them first and it had a nice spicy kick. YU-UM!

Hopefully this gets me out of my rut and lets my creative juices start flowing again!

Shrimp, Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya

• 8 large shrimp (you could also use 8 oz of smaller shrimp)
• 8 oz chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
• 6 oz smoked chorizo, sliced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 tbsp creole seasoning
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce (I used Tobasco)
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Season shrimp and chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.

Saute sliced chorizo until browned on each side, it will just take a couple of minutes.  Remove from pot.

Saute the chicken and then the shrimp, removing them from the pot as well.

Decrease heat to medium.  Melt butter in the pot and add celery, peppers and onions to the pot, season lightly with salt and pepper.

Add creole seasoning and bay leaves, saute for for about 8 minutes, until veggies are softening.

Add garlic and saute for another minute or two.

Stir in tomato paste until it’s coating all of the veggies.

Stir in tomatoes, Worcestershire and hot sauce.

Add rice, stirring until well incorporated with the veggies.

Stir in the chicken stock and add a little more salt and pepper, increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

Turn heat down to simmer, cover and cook  for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add meat and shrimp back to the pot, cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, until it’s heated through.

Stir in parsley before serving.

ENJOY!