Sunday Rewind: On the Spot Jambalaya

 – Originally posted June 10, 2012.As The Rantings of an Amateur Chef has been going since February of 2012, there are quite a few readers that have joined along the way. In an effort to bring back some great recipes that they may have missed, I will dedicate Sundays to re-posting a favorite that is at least two years old. I hope you enjoy! – The Ranting Chef

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!