JAMBA-LENTIL-AYA

Jambalaya - with West African, French, Spanish, and Native American influence, one would think this would be a challenging thing to make. Negative. Commonly made with andouille, shrimp, chicken, and rice - I switch things up with fun yellow lentils!

-3 cups cooked yellow lentils

-1 1/2 cup whatever sausage ya’ got - cooked or grilled

-1 small yellow onion - chopped

-3 garlic cloves

-buttter

-1 can diced or crushed tomatoes

-1/2-1 tablespoon Tony Chacheres creole seasoning

-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

-1 teaspoon paprika

-2 bay leaves

-16 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp

-salt and pepper to taste (I did not use salt as my creole seasoning contains salt)

-1/4 cup chopped parsley

-Marinate shrimp in 1 tablespoon creole seasoning and a little olive oil for at least 10-15 minutes

-Add about a tablespoon of butter to pot over medium heat - add onion

-If you had mushrooms, carrots, celery, or jalapeño I’d add that after the onions have a chance to cook down a bit - I had none of these

-Add in garlic - saute with onion for a few minutes

-Stir in tomatoes, lentils, the rest of the creole seasoning, thyme, paprika, bay leaves and stir to combine - bring to a simmer

-Reduce heat slightly, stir in shrimp and mix stirring now and then for about 8-10 minutes or until shrimp are pink

-Add sausage to pot and move heat to low

-Remove bay leaves

-Top with chopped parsley for garnish