Even a regular meal planner can have his plans go awry. I am a very regular meal planner for the week’s meals. The other week, I had a nice meal planned and when I got home from work to make it, I realized I had neglected to purchase several critical ingredients. What’s a cook to do? Order in? Go get the ingredients? Not me, I improvised.
I took a quick look to see what I had on hand that was not already committed to a future dinner that week and decided to make jambalaya. This was not entirely from scratch as we had a box of jambalaya mix (which is really just rice and a few Cajun spices). Add some chopped ham, tomatoes, a pepper, onion, and some great tasting shrimp and you have yourself a meal!
A quick and satisfying dinner.
Yes, I used the mix because I had it on hand. You can easily just make up some rice and add some Cajun seasonings.
I made the box according to directions. While the rice was cooking, I diced the pepper and onion and gave them a saute in a little oil. I then added the tomatoes, ham and shrimp. The shrimp cooked in the sauce and when the rice was done, I mixed it all together with a little Tabasco. Great eating!
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
Love jambalaya. It’s a great go to, one pot meal around here. Thanks!
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Great ‘instant’ supper dish.
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Great ingenuity! We’ve all had plans go awry, it’s all in what you do with it.
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Clever idea with delicious results. I bet the leftovers were good, too!
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Absolutely! I am not above using a box of Zatarain’s myself! If you’ve got some cooked animal protein (chicken, pork, beef) in the fridge, it works great for a quick, filling and tasty meal. It also takes care of some left overs! LOL
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Sounds great. I use the boxed stuff and add onions, green peppers, fresh tomatoes and sliced Polish sausage to it plus some extra cheese. One pot meals rule.
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Sometimes a packaged mix is not all that bad. A Louisiana friend introduced me to a gumbo starter that is a real time saver and quite tasty. Jambalaya is next.
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I love Zatarain’s jambayla mix! Add some spicy kielbasa and dinner is served. Sadly I cannot eat it on my locavore diet. 😦
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Looks pretty good for a last minute improv meal!
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Spicy sausage instead of Ham works well too…
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That happens to me too. Good job improvising!
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Sounds yummy!!!
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I’m going to have to try your recipe. Since I left Texas for California in 1993, I haven’t been able to find good jambalaya. Even when people grow up in Louisiana, once they move somewhere else, even if they claim to have “original jambalaya” or some such nonsense, they seem to forget.
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