Cajun-Style Jambalaya

I brought 6 pounds of smoked sausage back with me after Christmas. I have used two pounds so far. I made jambalaya for the first time in years. Darren and I both really enjoyed this. I used Conecuh sausage and boneless chicken breasts for the meat, but any smoked sausage, dark meat chicken, pork, duck, or crawfish could all be used.

I did all the prep work first, dicing vegetables, slicing sausage, and cutting chicken. I tossed the chicken in a mixture of salt, pepper, cayenne, and chipotle pepper to give it some kick. Then browned it in a mixture of butter and olive oil.

Then I browned the sausage and removed it from the pan.

Then I did the same with the vegetables. After cooking the veggies, I deglazed the pan with some chicken broth, brought it to a boil and added the rice. Then I stirred in the vegetables, layered the meats over the top, put on the lid, and placed the Dutch oven in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, I removed it from the oven, stirred in the meats, recovered it, and returned it to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

Then I removed it from the oven and let it stand for about 10 minutes, then fluffed it up and served it with a green salad.

This was also excellent reheated for lunch. We'll definitely be eating this again soon!