Menu changes

First, a confession. I didn't cook at all yesterday. Actually, I did bake a pan of jambalaya which I had frozen for a friend, but I don't think that counts as cooking. Nick did sound a little jealous as we drove to deliver it. "Wow, that smells really good..." So, I'm posting my jambalaya recipe. I got it from my dear friend and fellow foodie Randall Wight; it's his Cajun grandmother's recipe. You can include celery, but she left it out because he doesn't like it. (Don't you just love recipes that have a story?) I modify it a little; the italics are mine. We make it every year for Mardi Gras.

My weekly menu is always flexible. Sometimes I switch days, sometimes I completely change meals... depends on my mood. Monday night, instead of making cornbread, I tried Paula Deen's cornmeal dumplings (from Savannah Country Cookbook). In spite of heeding her advice not to stir the pot, some of my dumplings disintegrated into my butterbeans, which made the dish rather ugly, but nicely thickened the cooking liquid. Most of the dumplings held together, and we all-- Bella included-- enjoyed our one-pot meal. The leftover butterbeans will become orrechiette with butterbeans either tonight or tomorrow...

Notes and recipes:
link for cornmeal dumplings
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/turnip-greens-with-cornmeal-dumplings-recipe/index.html

Jambalaya
1 stick butter
2 c raw rice
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion
2 (can) French onion soup
1 (can) cream of chicken soup
1 (can) cream of celery soup
1 pkg sausage (not the breakfast kind), sliced, browned
2-4 chicken breasts (as needed or desired), cut bite size
Melt butter in rectangular baking pan. Add everything else. Mix well. Bake 1 1/2 -2 hours at 375 (until rice is done).
I add 1 rib celery, chopped. In large skillet, saute sausage, bell pepper, onion, and celery until sausage is browned and vegetables are tender. Don't saute the chicken, or it will be overcooked. Instead of cream of chicken soup, I use cream of mushroom; generic is fine. My favorite thing about this recipe is mixing everything right in the pan-- brilliant! I feel like a cheater every time I make this (no roux for me), but my friends who love Cajun food (namely David McElhaney, Harry Hurst, and Blake Sandusky) rave about it.