Harry's Jumbalaya recipe

This is a family favorite and one of Harry's specialties that he loves to make for a big group. It was originally a dutch oven recipe, but we have made it on the stove top also with equal success.

This makes a very large amount, so we sometimes make a half batch, but it also freezes well and can be used for meals later that way.

Jumbalaya
1 chicken, cooked, cut up. Using a Costco or grocery store rotisserie chicken is the most flavorful easy way to get the chicken, or perhaps easier, use canned chicken, enough for about 4 cups of meat. For canned, drain and save juice and use for part of the broth

3/4 lbs link sausage-brown, cool, cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

1 lb shrimp (optional, but really, one of the best parts) This goes in the last 10 minutes. Raw is best. If frozen, you will only need to cook until it is heated through. Remove tails before cooking.

28 oz can tomatoes-do not drain

2 cups uncooked medium grain white rice (or brown-but cook longer until it is tender)

4 cups chicken broth

1 diced onion

1 minced clove of garlic

1 bell pepper diced (any color)

2 tbsp butter

1/8 tsp dried thyme or 1/2 tsp fresh

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes OR liquid tabasco sauce, or to taste

2 teaspoons salt

1.8 tsp black pepper

Saute onions, garlic and peppers in sausage fat and butter.
Add tomatoes, broth and all remaining ingredients except shrimp
With white rice, cook 10 minutes, add shrimp, cook 10 more minutes until rice and shrimp are done-With brown rice, cook 35 minutes, add shrimp, cook 10 minutes more until rice is done and shrimp is opaque.

Turkey Stuffing Recipe

Here it is, the recipe everyone wants me to bring to our holidaydinners...
 
Turkey Stuffing

1-1   1/8 cups butter

1-2    

¾ cup chopped onions

4 ½ quarts bead squares (18 cups)  you can use regular white bread, or deli bread, but they will cook down and make a softer stuffing. French bread works better, but my preference is a substantial Italian bread,  round loaf (best) or long oval loaf, something with a solid springy feeling,  I don’t like to use sourdough bread.

½ cup finely diced celery

1 ½ teaspoons Poultry seasoning

½ cup chopped parsley or 2 Tbs dried parsley

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1 Teaspoon salt

Heat butter in large deep kettle and sauté onions and celery until onions are tender

Stir in seasonings and add bread cubes a quart at a time and stir to coat with butter mixture.

Stir thoroughly until cubes are evenly coated and mixed with the butter mixture.  This also serves to heat the bread.

Turn off the burner and transfer the stuffing into a 13X9 pan or use to stuff the turkey. 

If cooking in a pan, drizzle with about a cup of  pan juices from the cooked turkey or commercial chicken broth.

Cover pan with foil and put in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking 20-30 minutes or until tops of bread cubes are toasty crisp and browned. 

Chicken Stuffing-This turns out almost the same as the turkey stuffing but makes a smaller amount

1 ½ quarts bread cubes

½ tsp poultry seasoning or dried thyme, marjoram or sage

1 tsp celery seeds           1/8 tsp pepper                ½ tsp salt

½ cup butter       ¼ cup minced onion       3 tbsp chopped parsley or 1 tbsp dried parsley