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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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The poor kids — I’m on a soup kick lately. Well, a soup/stew/chili kick, anyway. Our fall here is so brief that I take advantage of it any way I can, and that includes dinners that take hours to cook and fill up the house with yummy smells. Thankfully, everyone humors me because they know that it also means a lot of baking, too — bread, cookies, you name it.

Anyway, Mike asked me a couple of weeks ago if I’d find a split pea soup recipe, and here it is. We had it last night with a nice homemade loaf of bread (and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. See how that works out?).

Peas don’t need to soak like beans do, so after you’ve sorted and rinsed them they can go directly into the crock pot. Also, make sure you add everything into the crock pot in the order given, and don’t mix it up when you’re done. It’s important that the peas stay submerged for as long as possible to soften up.

Once it’s done I transfer about 3/4 of it (minus the ham, if I can help it) into a blender to puree, and then add back into the crockpot for another half hour or so. You don’t need to do this but we like it on the creamier side. An immersion blender would work perfectly for this, but I can’t find mine.

You can also make it vegetarian by omitting the ham and using vegetable stock. If you don’t add ham, up the broth to four cups and use only 1 cup of water.

Split Pea Soup

1 lb dry split peas, rinsed and sorted
1-1/2 cups cooked ham, cubed (or 1 ham hock)
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups water

After cooking:
salt to taste
1 cup heavy cream

Layer ingredients into the crock pot in the order given above. Do not mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
About half an hour before you’re ready to eat, add the salt as needed and heavy cream.