Jambalaya.

Everyone has a dish that they love making, that takes them to their happy place. Mine is jambalaya. A large part of it is due to my OCD nature. I like things just so. This dish requires a lot of knife skills and a stepwise process that builds flavor. Making it calms and soothes my nit-picky soul, and the flavor is amazing.

First, you need to gather your ingredients.

Not pictured: two chicken breasts and a package of smoked sausage.

Next, dice your onion, thinly slice your peppers and mince your garlic.

Then slice your sausage into 1/2 inch pieces and cube your chicken. You can season your chicken however you like. I like using cajun seasoning.

Next, put a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Fry your sausage for about 1-2 minutes just until they get a good char on them and you've got some grease coating the pan. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon but LEAVE THE GREASE! This is what makes this dish so amazingly flavorful. You build on the flavors each step creates.

Lower the heat to medium-high and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Then add your chicken and cook until no longer pink.

See all that crusted goodness on the bottom of the pan? Once you remove the chicken with a slotted spoon, again LEAVING THE GREASE, hit that with a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up all the flavor bits and swirl them around in the wine and fat drippings. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium, then add your peppers, onions and garlic and cook until tender.

See all that awesome flavor? And that's just from the grease and chicken seasoning. We haven't even added any spices yet!

Once your veggies are tender, add the rice and salt + spices. Turn the heat back up to high and cook for 1 minute before adding the chicken broth, canned tomatoes (with their juice!), 1 cup of water and tabasco.

Bring that to a boil then add the meat back in and cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed.

The most crucial ingredient in this recipe is the tabasco sauce. I have accidentally left it out before and even though it's only a half teaspoon, it is very noticeable. Although the original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp, I actually don't measure the tabasco anymore. I generally just do anywhere from 4-6 "dashes" from the bottle. Your level of heat preference may vary.

Also, the cup of water is easy to forget so I always set it out along with my other ingredients before I start cooking. You can totally play around with andouille sausage or shrimp. I've done both as well as adding okra before. This is a very versatile recipe.

Jambalaya

1 package smoked sausage
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 cloves garlic
1 large onion
2 small bell peppers, your choice of color
3 c instant white rice
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce