Heather's Bytes

I came across this recipe a few weeks ago while trying to find something different to add to our bi-weekly dinner list. It looked easy enough and though I was a little wary about serving something new, it was a huge hit. I’ve tweaked the original recipe a bit to suit my family’s tastes.

Instead of putting it in a casserole dish I’ve also been able to make it a “one pot” meal, doing the whole thing in my giant (oven-proof) skillet and putting it directly in the oven after it’s been on the stove.

I also like to use the Foster Farms pre-cooked southwestern chicken strips (diced) as it adds a little bit of zing, too, and pre-diced ham also helps speed things up.

Baked Jambalaya

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut in 1/4 inch slices
2 cans (15 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup raw white rice
1 1/2 cups (1 15 oz can) chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Cook slowly, stirring often, until the onion and pepper are tender.

Add the chicken, ham and sausage; cook, stirring, 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the rice, broth, thyme, parsley, chili powder, salt, and pepper.

Turn the mixture into a large casserole. Cover and bake until the rice is tender, about one to 1-1/4 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

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I had never heard of M&M’s mini baking bits until just a few years ago when we went out of state to visit family. My niece bought a bag so our kids could make cookies, and I remember wondering why a bag of regular M&M’s wouldn’t work just as well.

Once we opened the bag I realized why. The M&M’s baking bits are about half the size of the regular-sized milk chocolate M&M’s. The smaller size means there are more of them, and it makes it easier to stir them into dough without having them break apart, thus losing the fun of using M&M’s in the first place! Read more »»

It’s been years since we’ve bought ice cream from the store. I got an ice cream maker several years ago and never looked back, mostly because not only is it cheaper to make it yourself, but I also love knowing exactly what’s going into it. So when I saw that this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie was going to be ice cream, I got a little excited. It was chosen by Katrina of Baking and Boys.

I’m not usually a big fan of ice cream recipes that call for cooking on the stove first (worrying about the eggs overcooking sucks the fun out of it!). I’ve got a recipe book that pretty much just requires mixing everything together before putting it into the maker, so I was a little wary about this one before I even tried it.

I like to use pasteurized eggs in my ice cream because, though I know freezing is a salmonella deterrent, I just don’t like using raw eggs.

I was a little worried once I got to the end of cooking the mixture into a custard. It got thick fast and I thought for sure that I’d ruined it, but I decided to mix it with the chocolate anyway (I used a mix of 60% and milk chocolate Ghirardelli chips).

It set up in the fridge like a thick pudding and again, I thought it was ruined. I figured I couldn’t make it any worse and after it cooled down I ran it through the ice cream maker. And then I ended up with the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever made. It was very thick and creamy without a trace of graininess, which I’ve found is hit or miss with homemade chocolate ice cream.

The next time I make this I’m going to add walnuts and marshmallows to make Rocky Road because it was the perfect consistency for some add-ins.