Seafood Jambalaya

 I have always liked Jambalaya with its New Orleans influence, but the bacon grease and ham had to go. I do love seafood so I added some shrimp and scallops. So here is my version of this recipe.  It is really easy and pretty quick to make about 30 minutes. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of uncooked rice.  ( I use whole grain brown rice and cook it ahead of time, it takes about 40 minutes)
• 8 ounces of uncooked deveined shrimp, tails off
• 8 ounces of  uncooked scallops
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1   14.5 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes
• 1     8 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1  3/4 cup of water
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper (or green) chopped
• 1 cup of chopped asparagus and 1 cup of chopped broccoli
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Chili powder to taste  (I used a teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper, or more depending on your preferences for heat.

1.  Saute the garlic and onion in the Olive oil until the onion is translucent. 
2. If you are using brown rice and cook it ahead of time then mix all the ingredients in a skillet or large pan with a lid and cook until the vegetables and shrimp are tender but not over cooked.
3. If you are using white rice, you can put all the ingredients (except seafood and asparagus and broccoli)  including the rice into a large pan with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes until the rice is cooked.  I would add the asparagus and broccoli and seafood after the rice is cooked and cook for about 5-7 minutes more  or until tender.
4. I like to serve it on a bed of fresh greens.