jambalaya in a jiffy

A few posts ago (before we got on our red food streak), I excitedly told you about this packaged meal helper that had become my latest food crush. It had caught my eye on a recent grocery marketing trip, but I must admit that I was totally skeptical... but ha, I love when I discover something great. {Insert little pat on the back.} Once I knew the product was excellent, I stocked up on a few more... and then I came home to a care package of several more boxes the other night, sent to me by the nice folks at cooksimple. For me, they're kind of a safety net in the pantry. But, in honor of Fat Tuesday (I will look for any excuse to make a special meal)...

and because one of our carpenters gave me these homemade sausages today (I'm telling you people, I have the most amazing crew working on my kitchen right now-- one carpenter makes me pickles, the other makes me sausages, and if you haven't seen the construction pics yet, check 'em out-- boy, those pics need updating, but anyway-- homemade sausages from one, homemade pickles from another and the world's most gorgeous kitchen...). OK, anyway, back to dinner. A jambalaya kit + homemade sausages can mean only one thing: jambalaya!

But wait-- jambalaya in less than 20 minutes! As in, spend the afternoon studying for your last nutrition exam, and help your little one finish his Valentine's, and have a virtual coffee date with a friend while the kids are playing, and still manage to have a dinner everyone loved on the table at a reasonable time.

Jambalaya in a Jiffy

(4 generous servings)

3 smoked sausages, chopped*
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 package cook simple jambalaya

My instructions are pretty much the same as the box: saute sausage in a bit of olive oil, then add tomatoes, water, and brown rice/spice packet. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, stirring once or twice during the 18 minute cook time, until the rice is done. How easy is that?

*You may not have a carpenter who also moonlights as a sausage maker... if not, I recommend Wellshire Andouille Sausage if you like spicy, or Wellshire Farms Smoked Linguica for a milder variety.

Full disclosure: my older son loved it, my younger son found this meal too spicy. To temper the spice, I added a dollop of sour cream to his bowl.... which I am sure is sacrilegious when it comes to jambalaya, but it worked! If you'd like to get your hands on some of these dinner kits, they have a well-stocked shelf at Whole Foods in Darien, Amazon sells them for my Idaho friends who do their grocery marketing via Amazon (which I think is so funny), otherwise you should check to see if they sell them at your favorite supermarket! I did not receive any compensation for this glowing review, but they did send me 4 other varieties to try... and rumor has it, they're offering the same sweet gift to a few of my readers, so stay tuned!!