I found Jambalaya on My Way to the Banana Bread

Sunday afternoon I found myself scoping out Allrecipes.com, trying to find a new Banana Bread recipe.  I didn’t care for the one I had and I’d just cleaned out our freezer and found oodles of overripe bananas in a drawer.  (I admit, some had been in there way too long so they went right into the garbage.  I honestly didn’t think ripe bananas could get any worse…wrong!)

I still wound up with enough bananas to make 4 batches of Banana Bread.  I did find one to try which included Sour Cream in the recipe and my family liked it!  Here’s the link if you’d like to try it:  Cathy’s Banana Bread .  I do wish I would have put some roasted walnuts or chocolate chips (or both) in a loaf or two, but I’m sure we’ll collect more overripe bananas soon!

Actually that’s the side story…

The real story is this AMAZING recipe I found for Jambalaya.  Of course, I had to tweak it to fit our taste buds.  No one in our family likes really spicy food.  A little zing?  You bet.

Here’s the link for Chef John’s Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya!  If you like things spicy, definitely use Chef John’s recipe!

If you like things a little less spicy, try my alternative recipe:

2 tablespoons Butter
1 package Mild Italian Sausage
2 tablespoons Ground Paprika
1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Salt
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 large Red Bell Pepper
2 stalks Celery, sliced 1/4″ thick
1 cup uncooked Brown Rice (I used Minute Rice…I have three boxes…don’t ask.)
3 cups Chicken Stock
1# large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Green Onions, sliced thin

Directions

1. Place butter and sausage in a large stockpot over medium heat; cook and stir for 15 minutes until sausage browns on all sides.
2. Stir in paprika, cumin and cayenne; cook for 1 minute.
3. Stir in tomatoes, green onions, celery, red pepper, salt, and bay leaf.
4. Stir in chicken stock and turn heat to low.  Cover and cook for 45 minutes.
5. For Brown Rice:  Add rice and stir to combine. Stir in chicken stock and turn heat to low. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, or until the rice is just tender.
6. Stir in shrimp, replace lid and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Remove the bay leaf from the Jambalaya.
8. Ladle into a bowl, add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with green onion.
9. Serve with warm rolls and butter.
10. Enjoy!

*For Minute Rice:  Replace #5:  Turn heat to high to bring the water to a boil and add Minute Rice and shrimp.  Reduce heat to lowest setting and cover for 5 minutes.  (I do look forward to trying the brown rice…maybe next time I’ll remember to buy it!)

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Patty O