Jamminist Jambalaya

When I was growing up, I remember Sunday being a big dinner, well more of a supper day. Especially in the cooler months, I remember my mom making one-pot wonders. These are the foods that get cooked all together in one pot. I think the updated version of these are recipes for a slow cooker. But my mom is old school, so all of our one-pot dinners were made in a dutch oven. She would usually cook them all day. Some of my favorites were pot roast and goulash. To this day the woman doesn’t use a slow cooker. It’s funny to me because the idea of cooking a pot roast or anything for that matter on top of the stove in a dutch oven (with the exception of sauce) terrifies me. I mean, how do you cook something all day with actual heat under it without just killing it or starting a house fire? Anyway, for me this is what the cool months are all about.

Luckily, I live in New England and autumn is slowly creeping on us! Today is one of those perfect days for a one-pot meal on what has proven to be a seriously lazy Sunday! So I stole a couple of recipes and converted them Meagy style for tonight’s dinner.

Paula Deen has this amazing jambalaya recipe that couldn’t be easier and takes little to no time. So I’ve stolen that recipe and cranked up the heat with quadruple the called for cayenne pepper. I like to sweat when I eat! If you don’t, follow her recipe or just double it! Also, don’t cook the shrimp in the jambalaya like the recipe calls for. But still be sure to cook the mixture for those extra minutes when the shrimp would be in there! No one likes half cooked rice!

Click this to connect to her recipe  Ms. Paula's Jambalaya

I’ve also stolen the idea of jambalaya from Hungry Mother restaurant. I’ve only been there once, but they made jambalaya with fried catfish resting on top rather than cooking seafood in it. They also topped it with a green tomato relish. It’s genius but unfortunately Ms. Paula’s jambalaya is much tastier.

So tonight, I’m mixing the two recipes and instead of frying catfish, I’m going to cornmeal bread the shrimp and bake it. I love catfish, especially fried catfish, but I have shrimp and lets be a little healthier! *wink wink

You’ll want to make the green tomato relish first so it has time to marry.

Green Tomato Relish

½ Green tomato, finely chopped

¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

½ lime, juiced

½ handful cilantro chopped

s&p

Mix all of it together and chill it in the refrigerator.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Follow Ms. Paula’s directions and after you’ve got your jambalaya rocking and rolling, start breading your shrimp. You can leave the tails on but no shell! Put cornmeal into a Ziploc bag, throw in the shrimp and shake shake shake! When you’ve got about 10 minutes until your jambalaya is ready, spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray. Place the shrimps in a single layer and spray the top of the shrimp. Bake the shrimp for about 10 minutes flipping them over half way through.

Scoop some of the finished jambalaya into a bowl. Place baked shrimps on top. Garnish with the green tomato relish.

Here’s to my chilly willy evening and my super hot n spicy Meagy style jambalaya, albeit mostly stolen.

 Cheers ya’ll!