HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!! 2011; damn, time flies. I'm gettin' old and all that..........
I hate being an absent blogger. I don't mean to be; I have tons of random posts running through my brain but I never get around to putting channeling my thoughts to the computer.

The kids and I had a nice time in Phoenix, AZ for a few days. We visited my friend Sandee and her kids; went on a hike (and got snowed on; haha, my SoCal kids thought it was ash at first!); and just chilled out (literally; it was freezing!). School is back in session and I'm still on my bandwagon of cooking and healthy eating (for the most part). I have shared some yummy tidbits on my Facebook and folks have asked for recipes so I'll try to occasionally create a post for it to share with you all.

First up, Jambalaya -- I must apologize because my quantities aren't exact and it's sorta an eye-ball/consistency thing too; apparently my mother-in-law has taught me well.

Ingredients: one pound of cooked chicken breast (I boiled one bnls/skls. and kept the broth)
                  one pound of smoked sausage (1/4" slices, browned in skillet)
                  one pound of shrimp (I used frozen, pre-cooked [I hope this doesn't make my Louisiana friends   and family dis-own me!])
                  1/4 of an onion (diced)
                  two stalks of celery (diced)
                  some fresh parsley (chopped)
                  two cloves of garlic (minced)
                  bit of olive oil (or better yet, bacon drippings!)
                  14-15oz. can of petite diced tomatoes (all, do not drain)
                  six cups of liquid (water, chicken broth, etc.)
                  1-1/2 cups of uncooked rice
                  seasonings: dash of tabasco, couple of shakes of Tony Chac. cajun seasoning, bit of fresh ground  pepper, sprinkle of salt, shake of cayenne pepper (ya get what I'm sayin')

Procedure:  In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion/celery/parsley/garlic in the olive oil. While that is going, cut and brown the sausage; boil the chicken; etc. Once the saute of onion is done, add the can of tomatoes, and four cups of liquid. Remove chicken once cooked and cut up into small pieces; pour pieces & broth into Dutch oven; remove sausage once browned and dab off the excess grease, pour sausage slices into Ductch oven. Add shrimp and seasonings. Simmer for 15 minutes or so. After the flavors blend, add the uncooked rice and two cups of water. Simmer 30-40 minutes until rice is cooked. (Stir regularly; keep an eye on the water content b/c the rice will absorb it during cooking; recipe should be be too dry nor too soupy). Voila!! Serve with french bread. So delish :)

I hope that made sense. It really is super easy and SO GOOD. Comfort food. Let me know what you think. Tonight I'm making potato/corn chowder with salad (and rolls; no roll for me though: I'd rather fill up on soup!) I'll let you know how it goes.