Jambalaya

It's never quite as good as my mom's when I make it, but here goes. The original recipe calls for ham and sausage, which is a little much, so we substitute chicken for the ham and use brown rice instead of white for a slightly healthier meal. The other day I was trying to throw dinner together and made a mexican version by substituting cumin and cilantro for the herbs and leaving out the sausage. The Mexican version would be good with chorizo I bet...I garnished it with shredded cheese and it was pretty tasty.

2 T olive oil
1 C chopped onion
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes
1 10 can Ro-tel tomatoes (tomatoes and chiles...you can use regular if you want the dish to be less spicy)
1/4 C minced parsley (i usually forget to buy this and leave it out)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste (I just use Tony Chachere's)
1/4 C Worchestershire sauce
3 C water
2 lbs smoked sausage
2 C uncooked rice

In a Dutch oven (or large heavy pot) heat the oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until tender. Add the celery, green onions and cook until soft. Add the parsely, garlic, seasonings, Worchestershire suace, tomatoes (with liquids) and 2 C water. Cook this gravy for one hour. In a separate large skillet brown the sliced sausage and discard the grease. Add the sausage to the gravy and rinse out the skillet with 1 C water and add to the gravy. Add the rice and cover tightly. When the mixture starts to bubble, lower the heat and simmer until the rice is done. Several times during cooking, lift the mixture gently with a spoon to keep it from sticking. If the water is gone before the rice is cooked, add a little more hot water to the gravy. Serves 8-10.