Jambalaya

Jambalaya has its origins in Creole and cajun foods and it typically includes healthy portions of spiced sausage but they have been left out here. Jambalaya can be made either with chicken or seafood. Makes 4-6 dinner sized proportions.

2 1/2 tablespoon butter or margarine.
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun Magic Seafood Magic (do not substitute)
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes (about 4 medium size)
3/4 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken stock or bottled clam juice
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 cups uncooked rice (preferably converted)
1 pound peeled crab meat, crawfish or firm-fleshed fish fillets (cut into bite-sized pieces), or any combination of these that equals one pound
1 1/2 dozen oysters in their liquor (medium size oysters)
1 1/2 dozen peeled medium shrimp (about 1/2 pound)
OR substitute 1 1/2 lbs. deboned chicken for all the seafood

Melt the chicken fat in a two quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and Bell peppers; saute until tender but still firm, about five minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom well. Add the bay leaves, Cajun Magic Seafood Magic and garlic; cook about three minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the pan bottom as needed. Add the tomatoes and cook about seven minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato sauce; cook about seven minutes more, stirring fairly often. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the green onions and cook about two minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the rice, crab meat, crawfish, and/or fish and the oysters and shrimp; stir well and remove from heat.

Transfer mixture to an ungreased 13 X 9 inch baking dish/pan. Cover dish/pan snugly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F until rice is tender but still crunchy, about twenty or thirty minutes.

Remove from oven. If you still have liquid in the dish/pan bottom, let sit for a few minutes, still covered, to allow rice to absorb the liquid. Remove bay leaves and serve immediately. To serve, mold rice in an eight ounce cup and place two cups on each serving plate as main course or one cup as an appetizer.