Saturday Night Jambalaya

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup (each) seeded and chopped green, red and yellow bell pepper

1/2 lb. andouille

1 Tbsp seeded and minced jalapeno

1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic

1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 cups uncooked converted rice

4 cups beef stock

Seasoning mix:

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dillweed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp dry mustard

3/4 tsp ground dried ancho chile pepper

3/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/2 tsp cayene

1/2 tsp ground dried pasilla chile pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp white pepper

This recipe actually calls for 1 lb. of lamb sirloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. I've made it with the lamb before but often just use chicken instead. In the instructions below, I add the chicken in place of the lamb. Obviously, since the chicken is already cooked you'll need to adapt accordingly.

- heat vegetable oil over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the onion, celery and all the bell peppers. Cook, stirring every 1 or 2 minutes for about 10 mins. Add the andouille and 1 tbsp plus 2 tsps of the seasoning mix. Cook, stirring and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot every 2 mins., until the andouille is well browned, about 10 mins. You can deglaze the pot with some of the broth (and turn down the heat a bit) to prevent scorching.

- Push vegetables and sausage to one side and add the lamb. Stir the lamb and let it brown slightly, about 4 minutes, then mix it in with the vegetables and sausage and add the rest of the seasoning mix. Stir and scrape the pot for about 4 more minutes then add everything else except the stock and stir it all together, making sure to scrape anything off the bottom of the pan.

- If you turned the heat down earlier, turn it back up and add all of the stock. Cover and bring just to a boil, reduce the heat to low, stir once, then re-cover and simmer w/o stirring until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 25 mins. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 mins. before serving.

Enjoy!