Chris’ Jambalaya

1 whole chicken or 1 qt reduced sodium chicken broth

1 lb Andoille or Smoked Sausage

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups diced onion

2 cups diced celery

2 cups diced green pepper

1 can of Rotel tomatoes (optional)

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbs paprika (plain or smoked)

Dash of Worchestershire sauce

Dash of hot sauce (to your liking)

2 cups uncooked rice

Salt and pepper to taste 

Either roast or boil the chicken to cook it.  If roasting, roast whole bird in 400 ℉ oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours.  If boiling, place the whole chicken in a pot big enough for the bird and then add 1 qt water and 1 qt reduced sodium chicken broth, 2 bay leaves and 4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme and boil for 1 to 1 ½ hour.  Remove cooked chicken from the pan/pot and set aside to cool.  Once cool enough to touch, debone the chicken.  If you roasted the chicken, deglaze the pan with a cup of chicken broth/water.  Deglaze the pan by putting it back into a 400 ℉ oven for 10 minutes and then CAREFULLY taking it out and adding 1 cup of broth/water and scrapping the bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add these pan drippings into a large pot set on a medium high heat.  Add sausage, peppers, onions, celery to the pot with a Tbs of bacon grease or olive oil or butter (your preference).  Saute the sausage and veggies for about 5 minutes, until translucent.  Add in tomatoes, tomato paste, deboned chicken and 1 qt water and 1 qt chicken broth (yours or the store brand).  Then add in onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and bring mixture to a boil.  Add in 2 cups of uncooked rice, stir and bring mixture back to a boil, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.  Once it’s back to a boil, lower heat to low and cover the pot.  Cook for about 25 minutes, or as long as the rice package suggests you cook the rice.  Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.  Stir and taste and add salt/pepper to your taste.  

*Remember that the rice will soak up a lot of the salt and flavor, so make sure you taste the mixture before adding the rice.  If it’s a little salty, that’s okay because the rice will take care of that.