½ lb andouille sausage, chicken is fine, sliced lengthwise
1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
⅛ t chili powder
½ t sweet paprika
⅛ t half sharp paprika
⅛ t thyme
⅛ t oregano
⅛-1/4 t Creole seasoning (amount you use will depend on whether it has salt, use less if it does)
4 medium small tomatoes, chopped (I used frozen--canned is ok but it will change the outcome to a more tomatoey creation)
5 oz frozen peas
1¼ cups Texmati rice, rinsed and boiled until no longer hard, about 8 mins
juice of 2 limes or lemons
shrimp--see recipe below
Instructions
For the shrimp:
I did not measure for the shrimp--choose the number of shrimp you want to serve, and then sprinkle some Creole seasoning, medium chili powder and sweet paprika over them. Toss the shrimp and let them marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge. While the rice casserole is baking, heat some vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet and toss the shrimp in. Cook until pink and curled--and a little browned--on each side. Squeeze half of a lime over the shrimp at the end and serve on top of the rice casserole
For the rice casserole:
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Heat a medium sized Dutch oven over medium heat on the cooktop. Add the bacon grease, heat it, and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are quite caramelized and sticking to the bottom of the pan--deglaze with chicken stock. Cook until the stock is evaporated.
Add the sausage to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the sausage is browned, about 6 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook until softened and the liquid has reduced, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and spices and cook another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes as the mixture reduces and thickens, although it will be fairly saucy.
In the meantime, rinse the rice several times and add it to the boiling water. Boil until it is softened--it will be a little chewy but no longer have the hardness to its middle, about 8 minutes. Drain the rice until it is just a little wet. Add it to the Dutch oven and mix it in. Place it in the oven for 20 minutes.
At the end of the 20 minutes, add the peas and mix them in and return to the oven to let the mixture heat through, 3-5 minutes. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime (or lemon) over the casserole and top with shrimp before serving. Hit with more lime (or lemon) juice if sounds good to you--it did to me!
Recipe by The Spiced Life at https://www.thespicedlife.com/jambakinda/