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As I mentioned previously, we had TONS of great food over the Labor Day weekend. (One of the nice parts about living halfway across the country from your family – not that there are many high points from living so far away from family, mind you – is that when you come home, they bring out the big guns.) Seriously…whether it was my parents making sure our “favorites” were stocked in the pantry, to my MomMom restocking her cookie jar, and my Aunt Beth and other “friends-who-have-become-family” ensuring we had a fair fill of blue crab – crab dip, picking crabs, crab cakes – we ate like kings.

Our first night home, my mom made Jambalaya. It was delicious. So delicious, in fact, I thought it’d be a sin not to share her recipe. But first, a few notes:

(1) I recommend cooking this on a night when you’ve already decided your spouse, friend roommate, random neighbor is going to do the dishes…I used A LOT and made A MESS

(2) It makes a lot. Like, seriously…a lot.

Mom’s Jambalaya

(Serves an army three Logue boys 10)

1 lb. smoked sausage, thinly sliced

3 T. olive oil

2/3 c. chopped green pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced (Don’t tell mom but I used the store-bought kind)

3/4 c. chopped parsley

1 c. chopped celery

2 16-oz cans chopped tomatoes (ok, so I could only find 140z cans…i just used that and added extra chicken broth)

2 c. chicken broth (up it to 3 if you can’t find the right size tomatoes)

1 c. chopped green onions

1 1/2 t. thyme

2 Bay leaves

2 t. oregano

1 T. creole seasoning

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1/4 t. black pepper

2 c. long-grain rice

3 lb. raw shrimp, peeled

In a 4-qt, heavy pot, saute the sausage. Once it’s browned, remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease and drippings in the pot.

Confession: I used two pounds of sausage…it’s delicious!

Y-U-M!

Add oil and saute the green peppers, celery, parsley and garlic for 5 mins.

Dont' tell my mom...I bought the store-bought garlic.

Add tomatoes (with the liquid), broth and green onions. Stir in the rest of the spices and add rice. Add sausage back to the pot and cook 20-30 minutes, covered, on low heat (until most of the liquid is absorbed). I’d recommend stirring pretty often so it doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot like mine did. Add the shrimp and cook until it’s pink. Transfer the feast into a casserole dish and bake for about 25 mins.

Dinner is served...