Jambalaya

An old wives' tale tells about the origin of the word "jambalaya". Late one evening a traveling gentleman stopped by a New Orleans inn which had little food remaining from the evening meal. The traveler asked the cook "Jean, balayez!". This meant in the local dialect "Jean, sweep something together!". The guest pronounced the resulting dish as "Jean balayez." In 1968, then Louisiana Governor John McKeithen proclaimed Gonzales, Louisiana the Jambalaya Capital. Every Spring the annual Jambalaya Festival is held in Gonzales. Jambalaya is also used as a main dish in many MREs for the United States Military.

Ingredients:
1 package of Rice A Roni Spanish Rice
1 cup uncooked chicken (2 breast halves)
1 cup chopped Spanish onion
1 can (14.5 oz.) tomatoes chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce
8 oz. raw shrimp shelled and deveined
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

Directions:
In a large frying pan, saut the Rice A Roni per package directions. Stir in 2 cups of water, chicken, onion, tomatoes, garlic, hot pepper sauce and the contents of the rice seasoning package. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and lower heat to keep it simmering. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and the green pepper. Simmer until the shrimp turns pink.

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