Jambalaya Casserole for a Crowd

Tish's Note:

Got this out of Taste of Home, made a few adjustments and here we are...a one dish meal sure to please! Make this to freeze ahead or serve for a cook out or family gathering.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 24

Yield: 3.0 Cassero ...

• 1 1/2 lbs pork butt, cubed
• 1 1/2 lbs smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 " slices
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 3 large green peppers, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 9 cups chicken broth
• 6 cups uncooked long grain rice
• 3 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
• 3 tablespoons browning sauce, optional
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions:

1. Cut pork butt& smoked sausage in small cubes and brown in oil.
2. Set aside In a large skillet, saute the onions, green peppers, celery and garlic in butter until crisp-tender.
3. Place in a very large bowl, stir in the remaining ingredients Transfer to three greased shallow 3 qt baking dishes.
4. *Ifyou are going to freeze do so at this point.
5. When ready too cook, pull from the freezer, let thaw and continue to next line.
6. *Ifyou are going to bake all now: Cover and bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring twice.

Reviews

[Messie Chef]

We really loved this! It was so easy to prepare and quickly stock the freezer. I only used 1 cup of butter and it was PLENTY. I also used canned diced tomatoes and ended up reducing over all liquid by 2 cups (since I didn't drain the tomatoes - whoops!) It turned out fantastic. It wasn't too hot for our 3 year old and it was relatively cheap to put together. Next time I'll probably substitute shrimp for the pork butt, as the pork seemed tough cooked this way...the only reason for the missing star! Can't wait for leftovers tonight. Thanks for posting! ************** Edited 4/25/08 ******** Okay, we really loved this recipe when made the first time but I had to add the following comments. I froze the remaining 2/3 of it 2 9x13 pans. Both times it came out terrible. It was nothing but a pile of mush, it was unappetizing and the rice broke down. Not sure if I did something wrong when I modified the liquid, but I had to cook it until the rice was done, and then it was a nasty mush consistency. We tried #2, and admitted it just wasn't as good and pretty mushy. We threw most of it away. #3 after it cooked, we threw it away, no one would touch it, it was way worse. Still believe it's a great recipe so I did not adjust the stars, just would not do this for OAMC again.

[lolabunny101]

This is a good recipe. I made it because I wanted to use up some chicken broth then I read the revised review about how it tastes after freezing (thanks for that!) so I only made one dish. I used cous cous instead of rice. A great way to use smoked sausage. It could use a few more spices if you want more heat but I would make it again.