Sausage Jambalaya

I played drums at Blues Under the Trees Yesterday. One of the caterers was a guy named Jesse James. I think he is headquartered out of Des Moines. He had a great Cajun catering operation set up. I sampled a lot of his food and it was all great. I decided to try my hand at one of the best things he made - Sausage Jambalaya.

Sausage Jambalaya

1 14 oz sausage ring, either smoked sausage or Andouille. Think Hillshire Farms
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh)
1 cup tomato sauce
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups rice
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the green pepper, onion and celery in a little butter. When the vegies are soft, remove from the pan. Brown the sausage and cut up into slices. Return the vegies to the pot and dump in the tomato, the tomato sauce and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add in the rice, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook until liquid is absorbed. You can make this a little ahead and warm it up in the oven before serving.

You might also consider adding some heat - either cayenne pepper or hot sauce but tonight I cooked this for my grandmother so I made it safe for the elderly.