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Jiffy Jambalaya

When I put this on the table, Barry said “Did you make this from scratch?” When I said yes, he said, “it’s really good.” I’m wondering if he was surprised that I made it from scratch or that it was good? Ha, ha! Then I told him it was a 15 minutes or less meal and he said “No way!” How’s that for a dinnertime play-by-play? This meal is really quick and easy…..and hot. Our noses were running at the end. That’s how I know if something is hot enough. If my mouth just burns, but my nose doesn’t run, then I didn’t add enough pepper. It must not have been too hot though because Annie ate her’s……Dottie was disappointed. She was sure that Annie wouldn’t want it. Poor Dottie. If you don’t like your food nose-running hot, then you can just leave the pepper out. But that would be very sad indeed. Don’t lead a sad life. Grab a Kleenex and let’s go!

We’ll use canned tomatoes, hot sauce, instant rice, crushed red pepper, black pepper, salt, onions, red peppers, green peppers, smoked sausage and chopped, cooked chicken, Now, something is missing. What is it? Yep………shrimp. Traditional Jambalaya has shrimp in it. Ya know, I used to love shrimp – then I got pregnant. I didn’t eat it while I was pregnant and the smell made me wanna yak. Now that Annie is 17 months old, I still don’t want it. I don’t even want to look at it. Ew. Maybe I’ll work back into it……or maybe not. It’s expensive and I’m cheap. Ha, ha! BUT, if you were going to use shrimp in this recipe, you’d just take out the chicken and add shrimp in its place. Or, take a walk on the wild side and leave the chicken in there.

While you’re doing your other cooking, you want to boil your rice. I used brown rice because we love it. My mom thinks it’s nasty and should be thrown out to the dogs. So, just use whatever kind you like. If you don’t have instant and use regular rice, then this obviously won’t be a 15 Minutes or Less Meal…..more like a 25 Minutes or Less Meal. Your rice will probably get done before you’re ready, so just cover it and set it off to the side.

Coat a BIG skillet with cooking spray and add your sausage, onion, red and green pepper. Notice I said BIG. I used a medium skillet and I ran out of space. I had to dirty another skillet. I hate dirtying extra dishes. Don’t be like me and mess up. And I was even making a half recipe! So, you surely need a big skillet. Everything is bigger in Texas. I’m not sure why I just said that, other than the fact I just like saying it.

When your veggies are tender and your sausage it hot and ready, you need to add the tomatoes, hot sauce, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil. If you’re a pansy and don’t like hot food, you can leave out the crushed red pepper.  I didn’t add any extra salt because I cook my rice with salt in the water. I didn’t think it would need it, and I was right. I think I deserve an award from the National High Blood Pressure Awareness Committee. I would like to thank all the little people! (That was for Annie.)

Now, if you’re a shrimp kind of person (and I don’t mean little), then now is when you add it. I just added chicken so I wouldn’t yak in the kitchen. Stir it up and simmer the mixture just until the chicken is heated. If you don’t have chopped, cooked chicken you could use a can of chicken. I try to keep chopped, cooked chicken in the freezer all the time. If you have shrimp in there, cook the mixture until the shrimp are opaque.

When your chicken is hot, add the cooked rice and give it a stir. There will still be some juice in the skillet, but the rice will soak it right up.

Isn’t it pretty? And it was so good. I sent the leftovers to work with Barry the next day…..I’m just nice like that.*See below recipe for this week’s giveaway.

Jiffy Jambalaya

  • 1, 16 ounce package of smoked sausage
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 2, 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken
  • ½ pound of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (Ew)
  • 6 cups hot cooked rice
  1. Slice sausage.
  2. In a large skillet or stock pot, cook sausage, onion, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper in cooking spray until veggies are soft and sausage is browned.
  3. Add tomatoes, hot sauce, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and salt to taste.
  4. Bring to a boil. Add chicken and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are opaque and chicken is warmed.
  5. Stir in cooked rice and heat through.

Yield – 6 servings

About Stacy

Stacy is a Homemaking and Business Mom Mentor, the author of two cookbooks, creator of multiple e-courses, seasoned life coach, and comedian extraordinaire. Her first priority is her husband and her children - family first. She presses on each day because her calling is to teach, train, and mentor other ladies to have their dreams. She believes if it’s not easy, you won’t do it – because she’s lived it. She’ll bring YOU the awesome so that you can get your home back into control and watch your business soar. For tips and easy strategies, you can follow her on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

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  1. Sarah @ Raising Isabella says

    I made this for my family tonight, and we all loved it! Even my picky 9 month old had seconds! We live in south Louisiana, so we know our jambalaya, and this is now my go-to recipe!

    Reply