Hot Jambalaya – a tradition at our house on Fat Tuesday, to celebrate the end of Mardi Gras. The dish is much easier to make with my supply of bulk foods from Sam’s Club. It calls for rice, butter, chicken breasts, sausage, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and raw shrimp – all things I usually have on hand from my scheduled trips for bulk items at Sam’s Club. After a busy day of picking kids up from school and sports practices, I can whip this recipe together with only 10 min prep time and 20 minutes skillet time. And I don’t have to make an extra trip to the market for specialty items.
Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes were the featured item I was invited to use in the Sam’s Club “Simply Delicious Meal” challenge. The “challenge” required me to use one common ingredient creatively for at least two meals. I was given breakfast and dinner. Both of these recipes called for diced tomatoes – a staple of any well-stocked pantry. I think both recipes are gourmet quality. I don’t think I can go a week without using diced tomatoes. I use it in soups, stews, stir-fry, chili’s, and as previously posted – even breakfast dishes.
I want to challenge you to select an item that can be purchased in bulk and see how you can use it to create two completely different meals. Leave a comment below with your ideas, and what you keep in your pantry from Sam’s Club. You can get recipe ideas from SamsClub.com/Meals.
Here is the Jambalaya recipe I like to use (Rachael Ray Recipe):
Ingredients
- 2 cups enriched white rice
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound boneless, skinless white or dark meat chicken
- 3/4 pound andouille, casing removed and diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
- Several drops hot sauce or 2 pinches cayenne pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons (a handful) all-purpose flour
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
- 1(14-ounce) can or paper container chicken stock or broth
- 1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) cumin
- 1 rounded teaspoon (1/2 palmful) dark chili powder
- 1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound medium shrimp, raw, deveined and peeled (ask for easy peel at fish counter)
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- Chopped scallions, for garnish
- Fresh thyme, chopped for garnish
Directions
Cook rice to package directions.
Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Cube chicken and place in hot oil and butter. Brown chicken 3 minutes, add sausage, and cook 2 minutes more. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay, and cayenne.
Saute vegetables 5 minutes, sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cumin, chili, poultry seasoning, and Worcestershire. Bring liquids to a boil and add shrimp.
Simmer shrimp 5 minutes until pink and firm. Remove the pot from the heat and place on a trivet. Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls. Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of rice on to the center of the bowlfuls of jambalaya. Sprinkle dishes with salt, pepper, chopped scallions, and thyme leaves.
*Sam’s Club provided me with a gift card for ingredient shopping, to help facilitate my post.
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