I got this out of a magazine (you all remember my cookbooks, right?) so I can’t claim it entirely as my own. I did edit it a little last night, so I’m posting that version. So I guess it’s mostly mine, yah?

Big Batch Jambalaya

prep time is about half an hour, cook time is about an hour, yields about 13 servings that are about 1 cup each (does the word about look or sound weird to you yet?)

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (single breasts, not the full double breast)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided (I eyed this and used more than 3 Tbsp)
• 2 pounds kielbasa, sliced into medallions
• 3 small or 2 medium green peppers, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium or 1.5 large vidalia onions, coarsely chopped (I had half of one in the fridge, plus one more large)
• 6 – 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 32 oz beef broth (I like the stuff in the box)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (the 15 oz cans)
• 1.5 cups water
• 3/4 Cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 Cup mince fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 Cups uncooked long grain rice
• 1 pound uncooked scallops or shrimp (if shrimp, peeled & deveined)

In a dutch oven (or  a large pot with a lid that fits), cook chicken in 1 Tbsp oil until no longer pink; remove and set aside. In the same pot, cook and stir the kielbasa, peppers and onions in remaining oil until the onions are tender. You may have to add a little more oil. I did. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Stir in the broth, tomatoes, water, mustard, parsley, thyme and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer for ten minutes.

Add the rice and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes or until rice is tender. *** If you are using scallops, set your timer for 20 minutes instead and then stir them in and reset your timer for another ten minutes ***

If you used shrimp, after the 25 – 30 minutes stir in them and the chicken in, cook for 2 – 4 minutes longer or until the shrimp turn pink.

If you used scallops, stir in the chicken and cook until heated through.

We made this last night before graduation and no one had a chance to eat it. I took a bowl to my friends house when we dropped off the kids, and when we got home at 10 we all ate. It was delicious. The original recipe called for less chicken and kielbasa, added ham, cayenne pepper and was shrimp not scallops. I think this is so forgiving because it’s a jambalaya, and the one I shared above just turned out perfectly. If you want a little heat, add the cayenne pepper. It called for 1.5 – 2 tsp, but adjust to taste. Maybe a dash of Tobasco or the like instead even. We will definitely be making it again. Yep, ours is gone, but hey, we fed seven adults dinner with it and two portions for lunch today. Not too bad! Not too pricey either. I don’t have a break down, but I think it was maybe a dollar or two a serving in actual food cost (not accounting for time to prepare or energy to run the stove).