Jambalaya

Tonight I made a jambalaya simple enough for a busy mom, yet tasty enough for a chef!  That is always my goal when cooking, big flavors, tasty ingredients and easy :)  One of the best things we did when planting out back was to put in a Laurel Tree, there is a never ending supply of bay leaves!!  I just send out the boys and say I need a cooking leaf and they pick it and throw it in the pot.  It adds so much flavor...yum!
There are tons of recipes out there fr jambalaya, this is what I came up with  a while back from researching other recipes.  I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper (any color...I used green today), diced
3 ribs celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
8 oz andouille sausage, sliced
3/4 cup long grain rice
3 cups chicken stock
Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Start with your olive oil in a pan and turn heat to high.  Add in onion, celery and bell pepper and saute until caramelized and they start to get soft.  Add in garlic and continue to saute.  Season with salt and pepper, also add in bay leaves, cayenne and paprika.  Make sure it is combined well and stir in sausage and rice, cook for about a minute and then add chicken stock.  reduce heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then when liquid is absorbed and rice is tender you are ready to eat!!