I'm IN!

Wow! I couldn’t be more excited! I got my acceptance letter yesterday to Sullivan and I am one giant step closer to being a college student and working toward my career. I feel like I’ve been thinking and talking about this for so long and it’s nice to set the wheels in motion. From this point on, only a couple of years before I get to do what I truly enjoy. Not too many people can say that they get to live out their passion at work every day but it won’t be long before I do!

Last night I made what is quite possibly Michael’s favorite meal. That just goes to show that he’s pretty easy to please. A great big pan of Texas Jambalaya and some delicious sweet cornbread is all it takes. You get the spicy and the sweet at the same time and while I didn’t actually make the cornbread from scratch, the jambalaya was all natural.

I try pretty hard to go in that direction as often as I can. As a future chef, I would like all of the food I make to eventually be all natural. No processed anything. I know it’s a lot more difficult than it sounds but it’s a goal of mine. I’m not a fan of putting chemicals and preservatives in my body. That’s not to say I don’t do it but I would like to lessen my intake.

Texas Jambalaya

1 tablespoon EVOO

1 green bell pepper diced

1 small white onion diced

About 3-4 celery stalks diced

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

¾ cup of diced ham

¾ cup of diced sausage (I used kielbasa b/c that’s all I had)

2 8oz cans of diced tomatoes w/green chili’s  

1 cup of long grain converted rice

I cup of chicken broth

1 bay leaf

Dry thyme to taste

Heat oil in large skillet, add onions, celery & peppers and heat through on medium heat until onions become translucent.

Add garlic and heat another minute. Then add all the meat and the rice and heat another 2-3 minutes stirring frequently to coat the rice in oil. Then add the tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaf and thyme, bring to a boil, turn heat down & cover to let it simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is cooked through and there is no liquid remaining. Viola!

So filling and so Delish!

See ya next timeJ