Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

Wow! Pulling this post up has just made me aware that “The Good Life” is almost a whole year old! What to do to celebrate, lol?

Anyway, this post gets an unbelievable amount of attention. More than anything else on my blog, and over 50 people viewed it, just yesterday, and JUST coming from Pinterest. It’s getting “re-pinned” like crazy and I couldn’t be happier that people are liking and coming to check out my blog! Even the owner of the company I get my chicken sausage from, commented on another post of mine, asking to use it, and ended up using this one in their companies Pinterest! That pin scores me the majority of my traffic! So, a big thanks to Frank Isernio of Isernio's Sausage for finding and promoting this recipe! The original post can be found here, or to your right is a list of the most popular posts here on The Good Life, it should be lingering there for a while…

Anyhoo, I figured, since it’s getting so much attention, it could use a revamp…

This post started as a first attempt at “freezer meal-ing”. It was a GREAT SUCCESS and if it weren’t for my extensive freezer meal addiction, my family would starve…. I’m kidding, but seriously, I had no idea we could eat this fresh, this cheap, for so long, just using some creative thinking, time management and a side of research, trial and error. This is NOW, a tried and true freezer meal.

I’ve made some changes, which I’ll highlight in bold type. I don’t use canned broth or veggies anymore. I boil my chicken bones and parts, after buying thighs and such, with leftover parts of veggies like celery, carrots and onions, with some cheaper seasonings and voila! Chicken broth. Portion into cling-wrap-lined Tupperware, freeze, pop out, bag and label. I also freeze some in ice cube trays to thin out sauces and such. And I don’t use canned tomatoes for this, I just buy a big bag of tomatoes, rough chop them, cook them down a little with a tiny bit of salt and they’re good to use wherever “canned” would be needed. Plus the BPA and Botulism scares are enough to keep me away from canned food, whenever humanly possible… Also, the veggies like onions, bell peppers and celery, I have already chopped and frozen…

Here we go…

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Chicken sausage. I use Isernio's. Any kind will work…
1 lb of chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2 Onion diced
4 Stalks of celery chopped
1/2 Green bell pepper, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
4 Cloves of garlic, minced I buy either the minced, dried garlic, or the garlic in the jars. I despise cutting garlic…
1 HEAPING cup of white rice
1/4 Tsp ground red pepper
2 Tsp thyme
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tsp chili powder
2 Cups chicken broth
Water, salt, black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot, brown the sausage. Add the onion, celery, peppers and garlic and cook until soft. Then add the chicken, rice, broth, carrots and seasonings. In a side skillet, cook the tomatoes with a little salt and olive oil, until cooked through. Add them to pot before liquid is absorbed. Mix well, and enjoy!

If you want to freeze this, just portion it into freezer bags, roll into a log and freeze. To reheat, thaw in the fridge the day before and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. It’s not aesthetically pleasing, but it’s de-licious! Very easy to adjust the ingredients to almost any taste, seasonings can be messed with infinitely to create whatever taste you’re looking for!

Enjoy!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

It’s officially Christmas time! (No, I’m not the mall, Christmas in this house starts AFTER Thanksgiving, thanks.)

I’ve been deathly ill since December started. I couldn’t even take my brothers birthday treats to him today, because I’m dying. My nephew has been sick all day too. Even Mo is getting it… But Moses is a champ. While we’re all withering away, he’s still truckin’!

Today, I got tired of my minimally decorated apartment, downed some Dayquil, and started decorating!

Project numero uno:

It only cost $8 too! I have quite a deep relationship with what I call the “crap” section at Goodwill.

Now, between the Cranberry candles, a pork roast in the crock pot and homemade biscuits in the oven, it’s beginning to smell AND look a lot like Christmas!

More to come….

Baked Ziti

I figured this would be a fitting post to follow my homemade marinara, since it’s what makes this dish SUPER easy and delicious.

All I do is set a portion of sauce out to thaw over night, and it’s ready to go the next day!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of sauce, following the recipe in the link above
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 box of pasta, I use rigatoni or penne
1 lb of your favorite sausage, I use Isernio's brand because they make chicken sausage, which we LOVE
1 small tub of ricotta, mixed with an egg
Mozzarella and parmesan for topping

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the pasta, drain it and distribute it evenly into a baking dish.

Cook the sausage, add the pepper and cook until soft, then add the thawed sauce, or whatever sauce you choose to use…

Combine everything in the baking dish, mixing in scoops of ricotta as you go.

Top with mozzarella and parmesan and bake at 350 until bubbly and melted!

Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Marinara

This is an update of a blog I posted when I first started La Vida Ariza!

INGREDIENTS:

4lbs tomatoes, again, I use Roma and/or hothouse, diced
3-4 white onions, diced
4-5 stalks of celery, chopped
4 red bell peppers, diced
Basil, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Chop, season, simmer. Done!

I freeze this by lining my tupperware with cling wrap, then portioning about two cups into each and freezing. When they’re frozen solid, I wrap them, label them and throw them in the freezer.

To re-heat, I take out one and throw it in a sauce pan on medium low, covered, stirring frequently until hot!

If it’s too thick, use a little pasta water to thin it out, if it’s too thin due to the unfreezing process, simmer until thick… Duh, lol.

I use this in everything from basic pasta dishes, to jambalaya, baked ziti and lasagna! It’s easy to make, and since I can’t stand the pasta sauces out of the jar, not to mention reading the ingredients often sends to straight to Google until it’s too late to cook dinner… Sigh, will my quest for knowledge ever end? lol

Enjoy!