Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone! And Happy Anniversary, Mr Sexy Man! We, unfortunately, landed with the cheesiest day for our first date. Two night before Valentines, I decided to round up all my nerdy, overworked fellow grad students to an Anti-Valentine’s party at a local college joint full of barely legal and very drunk undergraduates. Boston is rife with these establishments but the music was glorious to us library hermits finally hearing something other than lectures, dusting off our forgotten heels, trading in our thick glasses for contacts, and donning a pretty outfit instead of the usual jeans and sweatshirt. Oh and Blueberry Vodka and Rye Whiskey. Yes, my friends, those two are dangerous!
Three hours later, out of nowhere pops in this man, steals me into dance floor and demands my number before I leave. Thanks to the rye whiskey, I splurted something in Spanish and left. Thanks to his limited high school spanish, he miraculously got every number correct and asked me on a date. I randomly chose Monday, and it just so happened to be Valentine’s Day. Mr Man thinks I scammed him into a valentine’s date. To this day, I claim COMPLETE and TOTAL ignorance of what day that was. The jury of friends still deliberates.
Besides the point, I have to love this man for being the complete old-school romantic in this relationship. Roses, love letters, singing, the works. The only time I get romantic is when I’m serenading my beautiful turkey to come out beautifully roasted and make mama very proud in front of her guests. Yeah, I need some work. But one thing we both agree on: romance is not a box of chocolates, it’s a spicy smokey kiss on the palate. Mr Man ran in, smelled the veggies cooking, took a big whiff, and just melted! A grown man MELTED! Yes, my friends, spicy, deliciously smokey, andouille dishes make us both swoon. Take the chocolates away and give us a warm bowl of comforting, meaty goodness with a glass of wine. OH yes! Skip the “dinner for two” waste and make a dish that you can enjoy the next day, not to mention the night off the kitchen 🙂
Prep Time: 20 Min Cooking Time: 25-30 Min Ingredients: 6-8 Chicken Legs (skin removed, may substitute chicken breast) 1 lb Andouille Sausage (sliced into 1 inch thickness) 1 Zatarain’s Dirty Rice 1 Zatarain’s Jambalaya Mix 16 oz Diced Tomatoes (I used the one with green peppers, celery & onion) 1 Green Bell Pepper (sliced) 1 Red Bell Pepper (sliced) 5-7 Garlic Cloves (minced) 1 onion (minced) 2 cups Chicken stock Seasonings: 1 tbsp Cajun Seasoning 2 tsp Garlic Powder 2 tsp Cumin 2 tsp Spanish PaprikaPrep
-Grab one deep sauté pan with cover. Brown andouille sausage slices in olive oil at high heat. Add a small amount of water if it starts browning too quickly.
-Remove from heat and set aside. Add a small amount of water to the pan and scrape up the brown bits
-Season the chicken and brown on high heat on each side. Set aside.
-Add the onions, garlic, and peppers. Sauté for 10 minutes on medium heat, adding a small amount of chicken stock until onions are translucent.
-Add the can of tomatoes with the juice and the rice. Add a small amount of stock to combine the ingredients together.
-Arrange the chicken and sausage on top of the rice, add the stock until it submerges the rice and halfway up the chicken. Cover, boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to simmer for 25-30 minutes.
-Uncover, smell, swoon, and serve it up!
LittleFoodieChef 