I use Zatarains and doctor it up. *running from the room before I get kicked off the board* LOL

Well, I suppose that would work but I usually keep lots of fresh peppers and I usually have some kind of rope sausage in the freezer or meat drawer.

I know this is a tight community and I hate to just drop in like this but being the man of the house I do all of the cooking...I just run flat on ideas every once and awhile and need to pop in to get some fresh ideas on feeding my family of five.

Maybe you good folks know of some great websites that you use to provide ideas? I'm all ears.

Thanks!

I have used this recipe quite a few times and everyone enjoys

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya
So very good, so Louisiana style good. You are not going to believe how easy this dish is to prepare.
Serves: 6
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Smithfield Product: Dinner Sausage
Ingredients
1/2 pound Smithfield Smoked Sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 1/2 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup long-grain rice
1/2 to 3/4 pound medium, fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined.
Steps
In a Dutch oven add water, tomatoes, tomato sauce. Add dry ingredients, smoked sausage and rice. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until shrimp are pink. You do not want to overcook the shrimp.

A tip from Paula: Never cook the shrimp before you add it to the jambalaya. You want all of the wonderful shrimp flavors to cook into your jambalaya and cooking it before would make the shrimp overcooked (rubbery). Shrimp cooks so quickly, it is best to add it at the last few minutes.

I make Sara Moulton's quick jambalaya when ever I have a 1 lb chunk of pork roast or ham left over. For the seasoning I use a bottle labeled cajun shake. It is quick, yummy and adaptable. I never add the okra.

Cheatin' Jambalaya
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Sara Moulton

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 15 minutes

In its authentic form this Cajun specialty is so wonderful that Hank Williams wrote a love song to it half a century ago. My version is much simpler than the classic. It does indeed boast many of the elements of the traditional jambalaya, but it's mainly a great way to use leftover rice ��" especially the kind left over from Chinese takeout. Of course, this recipe is equally delicious using freshly cooked Simple Boiled Rice, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, page 40.

1 cup sliced onion (from the salad bar)
1 cup sliced red bell pepper (from the salad bar)
1 cup sliced green bell pepper (from the salad bar)
1 cup sliced celery (from the salad bar)
1-pound slice fully cooked ham (about 1 1/4 pounds if it has fat and bone)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon packaged Creole or Cajun spice mix
1 cup canned chicken broth or Chicken Stock
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
One 10-ounce package frozen corn
1/2 16-ounce jar hot pickled okra, optional garnish

If the onion, bell pepper, and celery are in large pieces, cut them into 1-inch pieces. Cut the ham into 1-inch pieces.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium; add the vegetables and ham to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the flour and seasoning until vegetables are completely coated. Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and corn; cook until hot. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with pickled okra, if desired.

A co-worker bought this for a potluck lunch at work one day. I just couldn't get enough of it! It isn't too spicy, but you could add more zip if you wanted to. Beware, this makes a lot.

JAMBALAYA

1-1/2 to 2 lbs. chicken (either assorted white/dark all boneless white meat)
1-2 lbs. smoked sausage
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped bell pepper
3 c. long grain rice
7 c. water (or 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 water)
Cajun spices, to taste
Salt and pepper

Pour cooking oil in a 3-5 quart pot, just enough to cover the bottom. Brown seasoned chicken and sausage until well browned. Remove from pot and add onion and bell pepper. Saute until tender. Pour 7 c. water into pot and add Cajun spices and more salt and pepper, to taste. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces and add back into the pot. Simmer on medium-low heart covered for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Add rice and stir well. Allow to come to a boil again then cover and return heat to low. Cook about 20 mintues. Check rice. If not done, add another 1/2-1 c. broth. If rice is too moist or there is still water in the pot, remove cover and let cook for 10 minutes or more

Late to the parade! But here it is:

Jambalaya

Serves 4.

Ingredients

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken, diced
8 oz smoked ham, diced (Kielbasa or Andouie sausage also work well)
2 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup each diced tomato, diced onion, diced celery, diced green pepper, and sliced okra
1 cup tomato juice (I like spicy V-8 or Bloody Mary mix instead)
1 cup stock, chicken, beef or seafood
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon gumbo file, optional

Melt the butter in a sauce pot and add vegetables. Saute vegetables for a couple minutes and add seasonings. Add shrimp, chicken and ham and saute until cooked. Add rice, stock, tomato juice and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in gumbo file to thicken and serve immediately.

Saweeet! Thanks. Now.....which one to try first.....Hmmm.

I am fond of adding peppers so I think that one will be first. Thanks for the help!

Neal

This was a recipe I made for a group of 15-20 people at a family gathering. They loved it, and asked that I write down the recipe.

JAMBALAYA

2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes)
1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice)
1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces)
2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage
2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds)
2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces
2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces)
2 yellow bell peppers
4 cups of rice
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato paste
Olive oil
10 cloves garlic
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 shakes Tabasco sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp chopped parsley

In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so.
In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked.
Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water). Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well.

In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste.

Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked. Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.

This recipes is so easy and good if you like seafood.

Craw-fish JAMBALAYA

1 can Campbell beef broth bullion (10 1/2oz.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 4oz. can mushrooms, drained and chopped
1 stick melted margarine or butter
1 lb. craw-fish tails (you can substitute shrimp if you prefer)
2 1/2 cups of raw rice (measure with the rice cooker measuring cup)
1 can Rotel
Mix all ingredients in an 8 or 12 cup rice cooker (can not
be smaller)
Wash rice and drain. Place all ingredients in rice cooker with well drained rice. DO NOT add water. Add salt and pepper, if needed.

After cook cycle is complete, keep on warm cycle for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serve with garlic bread and green salad.

Paulette

Jambalaya isn't really that complicated if you don't want it to be. What kinds of shortcuts are you willing to take? How do you want it to be, authentic? Then 45 min is probably not possible. Similar in concept? That can be done. Then, do you like a red jamb or a brown one. (The old creole vs cajun argument)

An older cajun lady taught me a few things about jambalaya. According to her and her cajun roots, many dishes claiming to be jambalaya aren't. (Ah, but so many things are variants aren't they?) FWIW, according to her, from its inception you must have ham in jambalaya to be real jambalaya. Well, that's fine with me. Her favorite was chicken and 2 or more kinds of sausage (ham is a given). I always add bacon. She said to me what I thought all along, that putting shrimp in is a tough thing to do right and eliminates leftovers. Dump it all when done since shrimp will be rubber if you warm it up again. She also did a combination or sort of a hybrid of dirty rice and jambalaya and they're so close it only makes sense. Her method used a darker roux but to do the roux for it, you'll hardly get the roux done in 45 min.

Here's some ways to cheat and speed things up:
-Meats can be cooked ahead of time to save time.
-Pick up some rotisserie chicken from the store
-Get ham from a good butcher shop or deli
-Leftover turkey (or ham) works well as a substitution or addition to the chicken
-Although chopping the veggies isn't terribly time consuming, you can buy frozen "seasoning blend" for the trinity.
-Jar garlic
-At least use decent stock or get some decent chicken base instead of the salt tablets called "bouillon cubes"
-Instant rice? Doesn't take that long to cook the rice though
-Instead of cooking the rice in the dish, which does taste better, cook it separately (in some stock and butter) then add when cooked.
-Beer adds a nice flavor, as does some BBQ sauce or steak sauce
-Pulled pork (or shredded beef) goes well in it too.
-Jambalaya can be very mild or very hot, but you make it however you like. None of the standard ingredients are hot by nature. Use seasonings you like, Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce, peppers, pepper flakes

Here's the recipe I used as a base (along with Justin's):

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 pound smoked sausage
1/3 pound ham
1/4 pound spanish chorizo
1/4 cup celery
1 cup onion
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup green bell pepper
2 bay leaves
2 jalapenos
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt (see note)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
3 ounces tomato paste OR 3 small tomatoes chopped
3 and 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 cup long grain rice
1 pound shrimp/prawns
1/2 cup parsley
juice for 1/2 lemon

Notes from the recipe poster:
***Note, I used homemade chicken broth with no salt in it.
If you use store bought chicken broth, I would probably not add any salt at all.
I would also recommend to only use 1/2 the can of tomato paste.

Here's a fairly nice, pretty basic & simple version too. You won't do this in an hour though without some shortcuts, like precooking the chicken or using ready-cooked.

Cajun Jambalaya
1 whole fresh Chicken cut up (boiled for 1 hour and then the meat pulled from the bones)
1 pound Smoked Sausage (1/4 in. slices)
4 cups Long Grain White Rice
7 cups chicken stock
1 12 ounce package Seasoning Blend (or Cajun Trinity)
Sea Salt
Tony’s Creole Seasoning
1/2 bunch fresh Parsley
1 punch chopped Green Onions
1/8 cup Canola oil

Begin by heating oil in a cast iron pot on medium heat. Brown Sausage until brown on both sides. Add in the Chicken and Seasoning Blend. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Pour in 7 cups Chicken stock and bring to a boil. Season with Sea Salt and Tony’s Creole Seasoning �" 1 teaspoon each. A little more if you like it spicy. Just be careful in case the sausage is already spicy. Add the Green Onions and Parsley. Let boil 10-15 minutes to develop flavor. Add in 4 cups Rice. Stir well to blend all ingredients. Cover tightly and reduce heat to low �" #2 or #3 on my stove. Cook for 15 minutes exactly. It is critical to not remove the lid until time. At the 15 minute mark, remove the lid and use a flat spatula to lift the rice off the bottom in a few spots. Be careful not to actually stir. Put the lid back on and cook another 15 minutes. Serve in a bowl garnished with chopped green onions and parsley. Often served with white beans and/or a mixed greens salad and hot rolls.

And of course, Justin Wilson's recipe (not sure if it's exactly his or not but gives the basic ingredients) won't be done in an hour but some shortcuts could help out.

I trust Justin Wilson's recipes, and at least he starts out with the Cajun trinity: onion, bell pepper, and celery, although garlic is almost always added as well but in a smaller quantity. I have three of his cookbooks, and I like all the recipes from them that I've tried, and they do remind me of life on the bayou. A recipe that omits celery would not be authentic Cajun, but then you said that that was not important. I happen to love celery. I've never had okra in jambalaya that I can remember, but I'm sure I would like it. I'll try that next time - I've definitely never made it that way, but I like that idea. I've never written my own jambalaya recipe down, but it's similar enough to what has already been posted.

Lars