Becca's Jambalaya

Ingredients (21)

• Andouille and smoked sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick - 2 cups
• Tony Chachere's Creole Jambalaya Dinner Mix - One 8-oz box
• Water - 2 1/4 cups
• Uncle Ben's converted original long grain rice - 1 cup
• Chicken broth (homemade is best) 2 1/4 cups
• Onion - a mix of yellow, red, and green onions (tops included), all chopped - 2 cups total
• Bell peppers - a mix of yellow, red, and green, all chopped - 2 cups total
• Celery, chopped - 1 cup
• Bay leaves - 2 (Make sure they are fresh and strong, if not, add more)
• Garlic, minced - 1 heaping Tablespoon
• Whole cooked tomatoes - 1/3 of a 32-oz can, break up the tomatoes with your fingers as they go in, reserve the tomato juice to add if necessary
• Diced tomatoes - 1/3 of a 14-oz can
• Tomato sauce - 1/3 of an 8-oz can
• Dried thyme - 1 teaspoon
• Tabasco sauce - several sprinkles
• Oregano - 1 teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sugar - 1 pinch
• Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning - to taste
• Fresh Shrimp, in shell, but cut to make it easy to remove from shell - 1 1/2 to 2 lbs (Remove shells and store shrimp in ice water while shelling.)
• Lemon juice - juice of half a lemon for each lb of shrimp