Wok's For Dinner: Ham Jambalaya

Tonight's meal reminded me of a gumbo, except without the okra. The recipe came from Ham: 365, a free cookbok I got in the mail a couple months ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out.

Ham Jambalaya

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1 stalk celery, diced (not in recipe, I added this)
1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes)
1 14 oz can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
rice

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, sweet pepper, celery and garlic in hot oil about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, ham and Cajun seasoning. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve over cooked rice. (The recipe suggests using quick-cooking rice and cooking it right in the skillet with the ham mixture.)

If freezing: Prepare as directed, excluding rice. After cooking ham mixture, place in gallon-size freezer bag, squeeze out the air & seal. Lay flat and freeze. Thaw 24 hours in refrigerator. Heat in a microwave-safe bowl for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Serve over cooked rice.

Wow, this meal was really good! It was a definitely change from our usual way of eating ham, but it was a good change. While it was heating in the microwave (this was a freezer meal), hubs commened that supper smelled really good. Ah, blush! Everyone enjoyed it, excluding my son who chose to be picky. Oh well, I give this 4 out of 5 stars. **** :)