Sausage & Shrimp Jambalaya

This is a simple, one-pot Jambalaya that is packed with your favorite Cajun flavors. It is balances by hearty sausage and light shrimp to fill you up. This is a great dish for a busy weeknight because the flavors come together in under 1 hour, there is only one pot to clean and everyone will surely leave the table with smiles on their face.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients
1 cup long-grain brown rice
2 cups water
8 oz can of tomato sauce
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 beef bouillon cubes (or 1 tbsp of beef bouillon granules)
1 medium yellow onion
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (bump it to 1/2 tsp if you like a nice kick)
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb smoked sausage (preferably kielbasa or andouille)
3/4 lb cleaned shrimp with no tails (these little guys snuck out of the picture)

Start by preparing your ingredients. Dice the onion and slice the smoked sausage into 1/2" slices.

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, add all of your ingredients (leaving out the shrimp). So into the pot goes the rice, water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chopped onion, sliced sausage, beef bouillon cubes, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, ground thyme, cayenne pepper, parsley and the bay leaf.

Give all the ingredients a good stir and place on the stove top.

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 35 minutes.

Once the time is up, your mixture should have thickened up and the rice should be plump and tender. At this point, toss in your shrimp and bring the heat up to medium/medium high.

Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Transfer to serving bowls and serve alongside a warm loaf of sourdough bread for dipping. Enjoy!

Spicy Cajun Shrimp Bowl

Happy Good Friday, Everyone! For our last meatless Friday of this Lenten season, how about some shrimp and rice? I am going to let you in on a little secret - you can prepare this in 10 minutes and it is going to taste like you were working on it all day! Can you ask for anything better? This dish packs a punch with its Cajun flavors and sauteed peppers and onions. If you like my Simple Shrimp & Rice Bowl, you are sure to enjoy this spicy, Cajun version.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients
2 cups white rice
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 bag fire roasted bell peppers and onions (these are from Trader Joe's and help keep this dish within 10 minutes!)12 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp thyme
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like it spicy!)
2 lbs large shrimp, cleaned

Add your rice to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. While rice is cooking, heat up your butter and oil in a large skillet and slice your garlic. Saute the garlic for a minute.

Add in your peppers and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened.

Toss in the diced tomatoes and half of your spices. Give it a good stir and bring it to a boil.

Once the vegetables are boiling, add your shrimp right on top. Sprinkle the tops with the other half of your seasoning before mixing everything together.

Keep the heat to a simmer and cook shrimp until pink (about 3-4 minutes).

We are about 9 minutes in now. Once your rice is done, empty it into a serving dish and pour your shrimp right on top.

Stir it all together and serve. Hope you enjoy this quick and delicious meal!

Cajun Spiced Sea Bass

After a successful weekend of fishing, my dad and I came home with a boat full of black sea bass. With fresh filleted sea bass in the house, I decided to make a spicy cajun sea bass dish with hearty vegetables. The beauty of this dish is its versatility. For tonight I am using black sea bass, but you can use any white fish you prefer, such as fluke or tilapia. (I am sure it would even taste delicious with shrimp!)

Recipe yields about 6 servings.

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs fresh black sea bass (I used 10 freshly filleted fish)

5 cloves of garlic

1 medium yellow onion

1 medium green bell pepper

28 oz can diced tomatoes (I only use Tuttorosso tomatoes and believe they are the best!)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 dried oregano

1 dried thyme

Red pepper flakes to taste (the more you add, the spicier it will be!)

Fresh parsley to garnish

Heat your skillet with olive oil. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. I like to use a chopper for the garlic because it gets the garlic into nice, tiny pieces and keeps your hands from smelling like garlic for days. If you prefer to use a knife or you don't have a chopper and you find your fingers are retaining a garlicky smell, rub your hands against stainless steel before washing them. The stainless steel absorbs the scent and your hands will smell fresh and clean. Add the onion and garlic to the heated oil and cook on medium for 4-5 minutes or until onions are translucent. 

While the garlic and onions are cooking, chop the green bell pepper.  Once onions are soft, add bell pepper, tomatoes and spices to the skillet. Stir to evenly coat all vegetables with the spices. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add fish fillets to the skillet by laying them on top of the vegetables. Cover the skillet and cook on medium for 10-12 minutes or until fish are flaky. (You may need to adjust your cooking time depending on the size of your fillets.) 

You will know your fish are ready if you go to pick up a piece of fillet and it easily breaks into pieces. Transfer fish and vegetable mixture to a serving dish and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

To serve, I made some quinoa and topped the quinoa with the fish and sauce. You could also use brown rice or pasta. (Helpful Hint: Replace the water with broth when cooking the quinoa for more flavor. I usually use chicken broth, but you could also use vegetable broth. I also like to put in a dash or two of garlic powder.)

With an abundance of fresh and locally caught fish during the summer months, this is a great recipe to easily incorporate seafood into your weekly routine. Enjoy!