my 2 oldest boys favorite go to dinner  reserved for bdays n bears games lol. mainly cause catfish fillets are more expensive then ribs wtf lol and zatarains jambalaya mix is one of only 4 things ill make from a box( velveta shells. stove top. and mashed potatoes lol ) ive made it from scratch a few times but their seasoning is hard to duplicate n da boys love it  so i just make theirs using a real chicken stock n tomato sauce. they actually recommend it on da box lol heres what we need for da jambalaya

2 boxes family size boxes zatarains jambalaya mix

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 johnsonville andouille sausages

one green bell pepper

one small yellow onion

1.tbsp canola oil

2.tbsp minced garlic

one 15.oz can tomato sauce

salt

green onion for garnish

and for the catfish we need

6 to 8 boneless catfish fillets

andys cajun fish breading

cooking oil

k first thing we gotta do is put da chicken thighs in a pot n cover by at least 2 inches of water wit a bit of salt and bring pot to a boil and when it starts to boil kill the heat n cover the pot n let it sit for 20 minutes that will cook da chicken. think its called poachin lol. but well have a bunch of chicken stock for da rice too

after they sat for at least 20 min pull them burds out n put em on a plate to cool so u can cut em up into little pieces n put da lid back on da pot we gonna need that broth later  n if u cant find boneless skinless thighs grab any kind n just remove da  skin n meat after they cook 

now grab u a big ass fryin pan n put a few swigs of canola oil on it then the garlic and cut up yo onion n green pepper n throw it in too

cook on med high til veggies start to soften up n then cut up n add da sausage

cook the sausage for bout 5 min just to get em to release they juices n if da pan gets dry put a little of that chicken stock in so nuttin burns. then when they get greasy add your cut up chicken

then well add 6 cups of our chicken stock out da pot  and the can of tomato sauce. if u using regular sized boxes of zatarains just follow the directions but replace da water wit chicken stock and still add bout half da can of  tomato sauce

next we add the 2 zatarains  rice n seasoning packs stir n bring to boil then cover n reduce heat to low and simmer while stirring every couple minutes for bout 25 min or til rice is tender.  u can add more stock if it looks like it needs it at any time. i feel like the back of the rice box lol   i cover da pan wit a perferated pizza pan so it reduces quicker  i cheat lol

k jambalayas done but we gotta rewind to bout da time we started on da veggies  at that point i start heatin up my oil to 375° for da catfish   usually takes bout 20 min. i try n time the catfish to be done just before the rice. so while da oil is heatin ill whip out da fillets n wash em off

after u rinse em off n they good n wet open up your andys n put it in a wide bowl we dont need to egg or milk wash da fish cause the moisture from the water is all u need n we want a nice even  coating wit no clumps  its not fried chicken lol n if u got sensitive mouths eatin this just use andys red or yellow but my 3 year old eats this so its not that bad. come on lol

now we gonna grab a fillet n drop it in and work it around real good wit your hands bending da fish n gettin in all da grooves really good

k they look ready to go in da oil bout 2 at a time for bout 6 to eight minutes then let em rest on a wire rack to drip dry

then plate up n put sum chopped green onion on dat jambalaya n sum hot sauce if u roll like that or sum of my fave ( hyvee got dat hot)

n there u go.  if u high rollin u can add sum pre cooked n peeled shrimp to da jambalaya bout half way thru da cook or heat em up in a pan wit butter n seasoning n add em at da end