Today, while cooking dinner, I had intended to make jambalaya. I learned how easy it is after some research. It turned out good on my first try some time back. The problem, today, was that I was running out of time. It takes a while for the rice to cook. So, I decided to make a Mexican variant. I had some Spanish rice left over from yesterday. 
To start off I sautéed the onions, poblano peppers, and garlic in olive oil. Once those were nicely caramelized, I added smoked sausage slices. Admittedly, I did this backwards. You're supposed to brown the sausage and chicken first, then use the chopped veggies to lift the browned bits from the pan. But, as mentioned, time was short.
I had already bought the bell peppers for the jambalaya, but once I made the decision to change things, I substituted the poblano pepper.
Once the sliced smoked sausage browned a bit, I added okra. Thinking about it, I could have substituted nopales (cactus). But I don't have any nopales at the moment.
I substituted taco seasoning instead of cajun spice. Salt, pepper.
After the okra slime dissipated, I added the leftover Spanish rice, which was clumped. I added canned chicken with the broth, which helped break up the rice.
After that, I allowed the broth to reduce a bit. Done.
My daughter smelled the food and quickly came out to the kitchen. She said it smelled delicious. And she didn't leave any on her plate. Mrs. approved as well.
How to Improve
To make this better, next time, I should brown the sausage and chicken first before adding the onions, poblano pepper, and garlic.
I also did not add chopped tomatoes. I could either use fresh tomatoes or canned, I suppose. And, instead of okra, I could use nopales.
#cooking #recipe #jambalaya #mexican-food #sausage #rice #dinner #food-cooking
