I am originally from Biloxi, Mississippi (just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Louisiana border) my grandparents are from Abbeville Louisiana and pure cajun coon-asses. My entire childhood I grew up with every cajun dish imaginable, things like dirty rice, gumbo, crawfish etouffee, andouille, hogs head cheese, and cracklins and as far as I'm concerned my grandma was one of the best cooks around (though I'm sure everyone says this about their own grandmother) The greatest gift my grandma ever gave me was the ability to cook and cook well. Now living in Texas when I am given the opportunity to cook for others I love making them cajun dishes that I loved as a child. Alot of the people around here have never experienced cajun food or seafood. I made this jambalaya once for a potluck at my work and I really enjoyed my co-workers reactions the first time they tried andouille and crawfish. So here is my recipe for Jambalaya just like MawMaw used to make :)

MawMaw's Jambalaya


Ingredients
2 tbs butter
8 oz Andouille sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 boneless chicken breasts cubed
1 lb crawfish tails
1 lb peeled shrimp
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbs paprika
1 tbs old bay seasoning
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1 tbs garlic
1 tbs brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Melt butter in frying pan
2. Sautee bell pepper and onion until soft and put aside
3. Sautee sausage, chicken, shrimp, and crawfish until slightly brown
4. Combine sauteed veggies and meat in large pot.
5. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, rice and seasoning to pot
6. Stir mixture Cover pot turn heat to medium high until stock starts to bubble
7. Turn heat down to low and let simmer for 45 mins- 1 hr until thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste