CAJUN RICE SKILLET + LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN HOMEMADE STOCK

Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Rice
1 cup
Homemade stock (see below) or store bought chicken or veggie broth
1¾ cups
Celery
½ cup (about 1 celery stalk)
Onion
1 unit
Green bell pepper
1 unit
Cajun seasoning
2 tbsp
Tomato
1 unit
Protein or veg of choice (chicken, shrimp, sausage, mushrooms)
1 pound

Recipe

Bust out your freezer bag of vegetable peels. Place in a large pot along with 1½ cups of water for each cup of vegetable trimmings you have. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes. Strain broth over a separate large pot and set aside.
Halve, peel, and finely dice onion. Dice celery into ¼-inch pieces. Core, deseed, and dice bell pepper into ¼-inch pieces. Dice tomato into ½-inch pieces. If using mushrooms, clean, trim, and cut into quarters (for canned mushrooms, drain and pat dry with paper towels).
Heat a drizzle of oil In a large pan over medium heat. If using sausage or chicken, add to pan and cook until beginning to brown, 4-5 minutes. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and tomato (and mushrooms, if using). Season with a generous pinch of salt and cook until fragrant, 3-4 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup rice and 1¾ cups stock or water (if you made your stock and there isn’t enough, supplement with water). Season with 2 TBSP Cajun seasoning and a generous pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium. Cover pot with lid and cook, 18 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (and shrimp, if using). Cover and cook until protein is cooked through, 5 minutes more.

Cooking Tips: Rice is typically a 1:2 ratio but in this instance we are using a bit less. Many of the vegetables here have some liquid that will be released during the cooking process. It is always better to add in water if the rice needs more versus adding too much. Check your rice halfway to decide if you need to add more water.