Pastalaya -Jambalaya with Pasta (instead of rice)

Every year around Mardi Gras I make a batch of Yankee Gumbo or Jambalaya over rice... We look forward to it as one of those -once a year- holiday meals. Well, pasta always seems to catch my eye, and I saved the recipe for this Pastalaya the minute I saw it:@) This is also a nice meal for folks that would like a little New Orleans flair, but aren't fond of seafood. I did change it up a bit by adding okra, and do suggest thickening the sauce with a little flour. But, this was a great recipe to start with! 

Want a more elegant dinner?

Serve the stew with thickened sauce over piled linguine.

Oh and... This okra came from Dollar Tree,

it's usually sliced into nice frozen rounds...

This year it was um, rough cut large chunks DT???

Pastalaya-from Louisiana Cooking

2 Tblsp butter

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces

1 lb andouille or smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" rounds

2 C Trinity-mixture green pepper, onion, celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 C fresh tomatoes-I used canned diced tomatoes in juice

1 C chicken broth

10-12 oz Frozen okra-optional

2 Tblsp Creole Seasoning-easy homemade Emeril's Essence recipe here

flour mixed with water/chicken broth, only if desired to thicken broth

1 lb linguine, cooked and kept warm-I used a large ziti

1/4 C chopped green onion

1. In large dutch oven, melt butter, brown chicken and sausage. Remove from pot.
2. Add Trinity, cook about 5-7 minutes, until softened.
3. Add garlic, cook for a minute stirring constantly.
4. Return chicken and sausage, add tomatoes, broth, Creole seasoning and okra if using. Bring to boil, reduce to medium, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. If it needs to be thickened add a little flour to small amount of water, stir into stew.
6. Stir in pasta and green onions. Alternately: Serve stew over linguine and garnish with green onions.

Eat well and have a happy day:@)