In an effort to not just cook the girls usual favorite meal of salmon or goulash when they came in, we opted for something a little out of the ordinary this Easter weekend when they came home.
Jambalaya or anything Cajun has a strong place in our girls hearts. We love our crawfish season like none other and especially enjoy fried, boiled or it cooked as an etoufee served over rice. So for Friday nights meal, I cooked a family favorite that we usually don't eat at home but from our favorite Cajun food restaurant Dudley's. We cooked our own The Ranch Kitchen's Jambalaya.
I used my large nonstick Wok to cook this one pot dish and this recipe could easily have served eight people or a small crowd. Along with a salad and some crusty French bread to dip up the broth, you have a meal that is worthy of serving company.
Years ago, when my two older daughter's each had their high school senior week activities, we always had a Crawfish Boil at our house with a big Capture the Flag game in the pasture at dark. To serve along the boiled crawfish, I would make a huge triple batch or two of this recipe for The Ranch Kitchen's Jambalaya and serve it for those kids who didn't really enjoy the main course of 'mud bugs' as some call them in the deep south. Crawfish are small lobster looking creatures that are harvested in the creeks and man made ditches in Texas, Louisianna and Mississippi. Spiced up with a Creole Seasoning like Tony Chachere's or Zattarain'a Shrimp Boil, you can't find a better meal. We just boil and serve them out on top of huge tables covered with newspaper for easy cleanup.
I remember those parties well and the fun the parents had cooking for our kids and watching them enjoy each other in their last days before graduation. It's a tradition we hope to continue for our Audrey when she graduates in a few years and hope they enjoy it as much as her sisters and friends did.
For this recipe you will use three different meats like the shrimp, sausage and chicken we used, but sometimes we can opt for just one. You can add crawfish if you like and even bits of cut up fish like Crappy, white fish, bass, ling, snapper or catfish. Just use what you have and make it how you like it! Do however be careful with the Creole Seasoning and add enough to make it as 'hot' in taste or mild depending on your own likes. When you think about it, jambalaya is a very close to a seafood gumbo with most of the broth or liquid cooked out and white rice already added in.
This jambalaya dish also freezes well to serve for a quick nights dinner. However, left overs were not an issue and what little was still left the oldest daughter gladly took home to her 'home away from home' for dinner!
So try you some mud bugs or crawfish soon while they are in season! Season is any month that has a letter R in it (September - April) and especially January - April...because the hot summer months are just too hot to harvest them.
Enjoy and get you some crawfish if you have never had any soon and do try The Ranch Kitchen's Jambalaya!
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen
Jambalaya or anything Cajun has a strong place in our girls hearts. We love our crawfish season like none other and especially enjoy fried, boiled or it cooked as an etoufee served over rice. So for Friday nights meal, I cooked a family favorite that we usually don't eat at home but from our favorite Cajun food restaurant Dudley's. We cooked our own The Ranch Kitchen's Jambalaya.
I used my large nonstick Wok to cook this one pot dish and this recipe could easily have served eight people or a small crowd. Along with a salad and some crusty French bread to dip up the broth, you have a meal that is worthy of serving company.
Years ago, when my two older daughter's each had their high school senior week activities, we always had a Crawfish Boil at our house with a big Capture the Flag game in the pasture at dark. To serve along the boiled crawfish, I would make a huge triple batch or two of this recipe for The Ranch Kitchen's Jambalaya and serve it for those kids who didn't really enjoy the main course of 'mud bugs' as some call them in the deep south. Crawfish are small lobster looking creatures that are harvested in the creeks and man made ditches in Texas, Louisianna and Mississippi. Spiced up with a Creole Seasoning like Tony Chachere's or Zattarain'a Shrimp Boil, you can't find a better meal. We just boil and serve them out on top of huge tables covered with newspaper for easy cleanup.
I remember those parties well and the fun the parents had cooking for our kids and watching them enjoy each other in their last days before graduation. It's a tradition we hope to continue for our Audrey when she graduates in a few years and hope they enjoy it as much as her sisters and friends did.
This jambalaya dish also freezes well to serve for a quick nights dinner. However, left overs were not an issue and what little was still left the oldest daughter gladly took home to her 'home away from home' for dinner!
So try you some mud bugs or crawfish soon while they are in season! Season is any month that has a letter R in it (September - April) and especially January - April...because the hot summer months are just too hot to harvest them.
Enjoy and get you some crawfish if you have never had any soon and do try The Ranch Kitchen's Jambalaya!
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen
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