Recipe: Meat lovers Jambalaya

Tonys boxed Jambalaya mix.

Photo Courtesy of Walmart.com

Tony’s boxed Jambalaya mix.

Utensils needed:
• Large Pot and Lid, I prefer five quarts and above
• Large rubber or wooden stirring spoon
• Measuring Cup
• Cutting Board
• Sharp Knife
Ingredients:
• One box of Tony Chachere’s Famous Creole Cuisine Creole Jambalaya Dinner Mix, Family Sized
• One ring of sausage, I prefer H‑E‑B Texas Heritage Smoked Pork and Venison Sausage
• One pound of deveined shrimp, I prefer Great Catch Raw Easy Peel Deveined Shell-On Medium Shrimp, 41-60ct /lb but you can use pre-peeled shrimp they are just more expensive. You can also leave out the shrimp if you are allergic and add another sausage or cut up chicken.
Instructions:
1. Thaw out your shrimp if they are frozen, I do this by putting the bag into a bowl of warm water and letting them sit until they are soft in the middle.
2. Next peel your shrimp, skip this step if you bought pre-peeled. If you have never peeled shrimp before it’s easy! You start by rinsing them  under cold water then grab the edge of their bellies where their legs are and pull the hard shell off most of the way. Leave a little bit attached to the tail so it all comes off in one piece. Next you grab at the base of the tail and pull the rest of the shell off. If you didn’t get the shell off in one piece go back and gently pick it off. It might take a couple of tries to get it. Discard the shell in the trash and make sure to take your trash out soon after. It will smell if you don’t.
3. Now you can preheat your water. I use a cup more than what the box calls for because I use more meat than what the box wants. I put my water on at about medium high heat so that way when we add the ingredients it doesn’t boil over.
4. Then you are ready to cut your sausage. I cut mine into approximately one-inch sections using the whole sausage. It is ok to eyeball this  step just make them bite sized.
5. Finally, when your water is boiling add all of your ingredients at once and let it boil for 20 minutes stirring consistently. Most of the water should boil off but make sure that you are checking it to not let the rice stick to the bottom of the pot. You can tell that it is done when the rice is soft and the shrimp are pink.
This recipe serves four people and costs around $13. You might also have leftovers. When reheating this recipe make sure to add more water and heat it on the stove. I would not reheat this in the microwave because the shrimp taste weird if you do.