Jambalaya

I have a couple recipes for jambalaya that are pretty similar...and then, surprise, I adapted it a bit to what I had on hand. The recipes are so similar..one calls for Penzey's Cajun seasoning but the other one outlines the ingredients that are probably in the Cajun seasoning.

Here is how I made it this time:
Saute:
2 slices bacon, remove from pan and wipe out skillet
1 chicken breast, diced, in 1/2-1 T. olive oil (amount will depend on how well the pan was wiped)
Add: 2 links chorizo (it was in the freezer leftover from Spanish Pan Roast), cut into 1/4 inch slices. The recipe calls for smoked sausage, but I had chorizo and that was fine. After I browned the slices I cut them in half.
Remove everything from pan.

Add:
1 T. brown sugar and stir it to carmelize. Saute:
4 c. chopped onions
2 c chopped celery
2 c. chopped green peppers
1 T. chopped garlic
After veggies are starting to soften add the meat back in the skillet and add:
5 c. chicken stock
Bring to a boil and add:

4 c. rice
1 T. Cajun seasoning
Return to a boil. cover and reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir and continue cooking uncovered until the rice is done, about 15 minutes.

I made this on a day off through the first simmer and refrigerated it until after swim practice. Once we got home I finished cooking it. I chopped the veggies the night before and had them in a container, so, even though I wasn't working, I could throw it together pretty quickly in between errands.
I was lucky to have so many fresh green peppers and onions from the CSA box, so I was able to use them while they were fresh. I threw in some chives at the end since the recipe called for 2 c. chopped green onions to be put in at the end.

The original recipes called for an entire cut up chicken and making your own stock. Although I do like to make my own stock, I needed this to come together a bit quicker than that would take. Additionally, the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 lb sausage, and I just used the two links.

Paul likes things hotter than Eleanor, so he used some hot sauce to make it to his taste.

This makes a HUGE amount (serves 12) but I usually freeze about half the recipe. It doesn't take that much longer to make the entire batch. This time I froze a few quart size ziplocs of this for easy lunches.