Jambalaya & Bad things happen when I don’t eat.

Somehow in the past few months I seemed to have forgotten my passion for cooking.  Let’s take a moment to ponder how the heck this is even possible.  Somewhere between leaving a job of over four years, attempting to sell a house, subsequently becoming a landlord, selling off and donating an insane amount of my possessions, a crazy condo hunt, leaving my family and home state of 26 years, a HORRIBLE moving experience, starting a new job, and immersing myself in the culinary delights of a new city I forgot how much fun and just how darn rewarding a home cooked meal can be.

Blasphemy!

Through these past few whirlwind months I’ve been a little *ahem* emotional.  Ok, not just emotional.  Let’s also throw in irrational, brash, and downright scary at times.  This Saturday I actually cried over burnt pizza.  I CRIED, PEOPLE.  And then I sat on the living room floor with my knees clenched up to my chest and just stared off into nothingness as my body seethed in furry searching for some sort of carbohydrate to peak my bottomed out blood sugar.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again:  bad things happen when I don’t eat.

While I was in the midst of nuclear shutdown, the BF came over, sat down beside me, and put his arm around his little sugar feigning zombie.  And we sat.  And then he did what any good man would do:  he didn’t talk, didn’t ask questions, he just got up from the floor sauntered over to the kitchen and made me a snack.

I know, right?

Why can’t I see things so simply?  Is it really just a man thing?  Are women really just crazy complex, overanalyzing, (often) emotional basket cases?  Whatever the case may be (lord knows I don’t have the answers) the BF does a pretty darn good job of reeling me back from Mary’s Land of Anxious Gloom by trying to insert some of the simple things into my life.  Sunday morning he convinced me to simply sit on the porch and drink mimosas, and Sunday night we simply made jambalaya for dinner.

This was simply stick to your ribs delicious, guys.  I’m serious.  It gave the jambalaya we had in New Orleans a run for the money!

We used an old Cooking Light recipe (with a few minor modifications—if you’re interested, check out the original here).

Jambalaya Ingredients List (serves 5)

• 2 cooked hot chicken sausage links, sliced
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain brown rice (such as Uncle Ben’s Fast & Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice)
• 2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 8 ounces cooked boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green peppers and onions, undrained
• 4 ounces raw shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Simplified instructions:

• Coat a large pot with cooking spray then heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in uncooked rice and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and all the spices and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add chicken and tomatoes, stir in shrimp, cover and cook 8 minutes or until shrimp are done.
• Remove from heat, sprinkle with green onions, and eat your face off.

Stats on 1 serving:  351 calories, 54g carbs, 4g fat, 25g protein, 5g fiber

Looking for a Jambalaya-for-one recipe?  Check out this post.

Looking for a crazy, borderline incoherent, slightly volatile woman?  Catch me on a day when I miss my midmorning snack.