Dad’s Jambalaya

I am so excited to share that I got my grubby little paws on my dad’s jambalaya recipe. Jambalaya is one of my FAVORITE meals ever and I finally have been present to observe the process from behind the curtain. Marky Mark makes some edits to the recipe – like doing half sweet half hot sauage – you could do 2LB of one or the other if you prefer. He stressed that the most important part of the recipe is making your own chicken broth, or ‘liquid gold’ as he calls it. Plan for two days to make this, so you can make the broth the day before. Makes about 8-10 servings but I don’t recommend sharing. I also highly recommend asking your loved ones for their recipes, food strengthens connections.

Ingredients

Chicken Broth:

  • 1 small fryer chicken
  • 1 rib celery with leaves
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 1 clove garlic

Jambalaya:

  • 2 cups long grain rice
  • 1 LB Ground Italian sausage
  • 1 LB Ground Hot Sausage
  • ½ stick butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • ¼ teaspoon thyme
  • 2 teaspoons salt.
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon Tabasco
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • Shredded chicken

Let’s Get Cooking

In a large pot, cover chicken with water; add celery, onion, garlic; boil until tender, about 1 hour. Reserve stock.

Remove chicken meat from bones once cooled and reserve. In 5 cups stock, cook rice until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

In a Dutch oven, cook the ground sausage until cooked thoroughly about 5-8 minutes. Remove meat. Add butter to pan and sauté onion, pepper, and parsley until tender, about 3 minutes. Add chicken abd sausage; stir in garlic, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Add cooked rice and mix thoroughly. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, sitrring frequently.

Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Made with Love,

Hannah

Butternut Squash & Sausage Pasta

Fall is officially here and I could not be happier. I love nothing more than being cozy, snuggled up, with a hearty and comforting meal. In trying out some new recipes this year I stumbled across a few recipes for butternut squash pasta and I figured I had to try it, and I had these super cute Halloween-shaped noodles.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 Cups Butternut Squash, cubed
  • 1 Yellow Onion, chopped into halves then quartered
  • 3 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 TBSP Olive Oil + 1 TBSP
  • 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 16 oz Hot Italian Sausage
  • 2 TBSP Butter
  • 1 TBSP Dried Sage
  • 1/2 TSP Nutmeg
  • Salt + Pepper
  • 1/4 Cup Parmesan
  • 1lb Pasta, cooked according to package
  • 1/4 Cup Pasta water

Let’s Get Cooking

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Place butternut squash + onion + whole garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Toss with 2 TBSP of olive oil and toast for 15-20 minutes.

Once roasted, add to a blender + 1/2 Cup chicken broth and blend until creamy.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking add the remaining 1 TBSP of olive oil and cook the sausage. Remove and set aside.

In a large skillet, turn the heat to MED-LOW and add in butter. Once it begins to melt add in the 1 TBSP of sage and cook until fragrant. Add in the squash puree + salt + pepper + 1/2 TSP nutmeg. Slowly add in the reserved pasta water and allow to thicken up. Add in cooked pasta + cooked sausage + parmesan and toss to coat.

Serve immediately & enjoy!

Made with Love,

Hannah

Sausage Meatballs

My mom wanted spaghetti and meatballs the other day so that is just what we did. You can never go wrong with this classic. I got a new cookbook for Christmas that incorporates spicy sausage into the mixture rather than pork or veal. This gives the meatballs amazing new flavor, I added in more sausage and less ground beef than called for because I love the sausage flavor, but as usual, do what makes you happy. This makes about 12 meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Dried Bread Crumbs
  • 1/4 Cup Whole Milk
  • 2 LBS 85% Lean Ground Beef
  • 1/2 LBS Spicy Italian Sausage, casing removed
  • 1 Cup Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 2 TSP Dried Oregano
  • 1 TSP Dried Chili Flakes
  • 1 TSP Salt
  • 1 TSP Pepper
  • 2 Eggs, beaten
  • 1 26 oz Jar of Marinara Sauce

Let’s Get Cooking

Preheat the oven to 400F and line your baking sheets

In a large mixing bowl combine with your hands: bread crumbs + milk + beef + sausage + cheese + oregano + chili flakes + salt + pepper.

Add in the eggs and mix until well combined. Don’t over mix, it will make the meat tough.

Using about 1/2 cup measure scoop the meatball mixture out and roll with your hands to make a ball.

Place on baking sheets and bake for about 25 minutes.

Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and pasta.

Made with Love,

Hannah