(Please forgive these awfulll pictures. 🙁 )
We’re seriously contemplating sleep training our son, aka cry it out, aka make momma sad, resulting in picking him up and failing, again. We have tried this a few times and I can’t seem to make it past 10 minutes, it breaks my heart to hear him cry like that! I know I need to do it, or I won’t get a decent night sleep for a looong time, plus on nights I work, drew just can’t seem to get him to bed and keep him there, he’s always. waking. up. its exhausting for both of them and it worries me all night while im at work, (but how do you ladies do it? how do you listen to your child cry for an extended amount of time?)
we have the happiest and greatest baby in the world, except when its time for sleeping, then its like someone else entirely takes over and he’s just stubborn, stubborn, stubborn! MUST.GET.SLEEP.ASAP.
Anywho, before I went on maternity leave, when i worked on another unit, I used to have my badge activated to buy my food in the cafeteria, it worked like a debit card where they would yank the charges out of your check, so when I was preggers and working 12 hour shifts, eating all the time, this was a great convenience. Except not. I would eat way to many meals and snacks and the amount I was spending was equivalent to what I spent on groceries, it was redic. So when I came back to work, on a new unit, I declined to have my badge act as a debit card, it’s a terrible idea for a girl who loves to eat, on the night shift, with a bit of time on her hands. And so I digress! SO since I don’t charge my food anymore, since I love cooking, and since I realized most things in the cafe were 402954 calories EACH, I make dinner even on the nights im working and just pack mine up, and put the rest in the fridge for Drew.
This jambalaya is absolutely fantabulous. No joke. Normally I can’t handle spicy food, but woohee! This was SO good, I demolished my plate in about 2.2 seconds. It’s so fast to whip up! (I love one pot meals sometimes!) I did it about an hour before I had to walk out the door, including “powdering my nose” time! 😉 Make this. I loved it. My timer loved it. Drew loved it. You will love it too. You can control the amount of hotness, which is great for those of you who don’t love spicy either. you can use andouille sausage if that’s what you prefer, I used hot sausage because it’s what I had on hand, and im all about using what I’ve got and saving money, you can add more veggies if you’d love to, you name it, you’ve got it! Now get to cooking!! 😀
Cajun Jambalaya
Adapted from: Emeril Lagasse
Yield: 4-5 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, rinsed and chopped
- 3 Hot Italian Sausage links, removed from casing and chopped
- 1 Tbsp. Creole Seasoning (Recipe Below)
- 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 cup Onion, diced
- 1 Green Pepper, about 1 1/2 cups, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tomato, about 1 cup, diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha!)
- 2 cups brown rice
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Creole Seasoning:
- 2 Tbsp. Paprika
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. Onion Powder
- 1 Tbsp. Cayenne Pepper
- 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Makes about 2/3 of a cup! Save the leftovers for another fab dish that you’d like to spice up!!
Directions:
- Combine your chicken and sausage in a bowl, and fully coat with Creole seasoning.
- in a large sauce pan, over medium-high heat, heat oil with onion, green pepper, and celery for 3-5 minutes.
- Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire, and hot sauce.
- Stir in rice and add broth.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, until rice absorbs liquid and becomes soft, stir occasionally. Stir occasionally.
- When rice is just tender, add the chicken and sausage mix.
- Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, and creole seasoning.
