Jumbalaya Recipe!

This is absolutely one of my favorite meals to make, and eat. It's so delicious. It's also one of James' favorites! The recipe actually came from my mom, who found it online, and she kind of tweaked it her way, and I have made it my own also. You can kind of play around with it, but my suggestion is try it this way first and go from there. It's so delicious.

You Will Need:
-About 1/3 to 1/4 of a large onion, chopped into small/medium pieces/chunks
-2 strips of celery, sliced up into chunks
-2 medium green peppers, chunked up into small/medium pieces/chunks
-1 package of smoked sausage, sliced up semi-thin
-About 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or olive oil)
-1 can of tomatoes with jalepenos (Rotel is a good brand and you can get medium or hot, however spicy you want it, and also you can used just a can of stewed tomatos without the jalepenos to leave out the spice, but I don't find it the same)
-Misc Spices
-About 2 tablespoons of hot sauce
-1 can of tomato juice (I usually get the 46 oz can)
-About a pound of instant rice or minute rice (not the long cook rice)

Directions:
-In a large pan, combine the onion, celery, green peppers, sausage, and oil. Saute on high heat until the juices start to come out of the vegetables, or until you are satisfied with how soft/hard the vegetables are. I usually cook it about 5-7 minutes.



-Add the can of tomatoes and let cook another 2-3 minutes. At this time, you can also add some spices. I usually add just a little bit of each of the following: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Also, I usually add about 2 tablespoons of hot sauce, but that is optional.



-Add the can of tomato juice and stir in. Bring it to a boil. Usually only takes less than 5 minutes for it to boil.



-Once it's boiling, add the rice. I guess it's about one pound of rice, but I buy like a big 5 pound box of rice and just guess and pour from there. Pour in enough until it starts to soak up the juice. Simmer until the juice is mostly soaked into the rice, usually takes another 5 minutes or so. Then let it sit for about 3-5 minutes to let the rest of the juice soak up and to let it cool slightly.



-Be warned it will be hot even once it sits for a bit. Actually if I go back to put the leftovers away, after 45 minutes, it's still hot down in the pan. It definitely holds the heat.
-I personally add lots of extra hot sauce once I get it on my plate or in my own bowl, but not everyone likes to.

**NOTE** The pictures don't do it justice. It's got more green in person, and looks much more delicious in person. Try it out. You won't regret it.