Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals

Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals saved me from a cooking disaster. Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals can save you too!

I have been responsible for putting food on the table since I was 17 years old. At 19 I was a mother and already making meals for my small family. I remember once making some type of noodle dish that I found off the side of a can of soup. My husband sweetly choked the meal down, but the look on his face after taking the last bite told me I had to learn how to cook.

Since then, I have been cooking up a storm. Reading Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals books and her Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine along with watching her shows on Food Network has helped me quite a bit. I realized that I too could be a great cook. At least a happy cook. 

Below, are a list of some of Rachael Ray's recipe books and her personal cooking instruments that will help you find the hidden chef that is inside of you too. Look for her Autographed Cookbooks and Memorabilia for the true Rachael Ray fan. I also included a recipe from her Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals Comfort Foods book that your whole family will fall in love with. Mine sure did. Enjoy Cooking!

-thestyleguru 

Everything Jambalaya (serves 4 hearty portions)

(If you like cajun foods or know someone who does, you'll all love this meal. It's great to make for potlucks or small get togethers or just a meal for the family. Serve with some buttered biscuits or cornbread. Very filling.)

You'll Need:

1 cup enriched white rice, following directions on package 

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil(once around the pan) 

1 tbsp butter

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast meat, diced

1/2 pound andouille, chorizo, or linguica sausage, diced ( I put chorizo in mine)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery from heart of stalk, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

A few drops cayenne pepper sauce

2 to 3 tbsp all-purpose flour (for thickening)

1 can (14 oz.)diced tomatoes

1 can (14 oz.)chicken broth

1 tsp ground cumin

1 rounded tsp chili powder

1 rounded tsp Old Bay seasoning

4 drops each cayenne pepper sauce, such as Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce

3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (you can get it already done for    you at the seafood counter or freezer section)

Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems and chopped (about 2 tbsp)

4 scallions, sliced thin ( for garnishing)

Prepare:

Cook rice and keep covered

Place a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and melt butter into it. Add chicken and brown 2 minutes. Add sausage and cook 2 minutes more. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper sauce. Saute veggies till tender, another 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and meat and cook a minute more, stirring to incorporate flour. Add tomatoes and broth to pan and combine ingredients well. Season with cumin, chili powder, Old Bay seasoning, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.

Scatter shrimp into pot and cook until shrimp are pink and firm and sauce thickens a bit, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, ladle jambalaya into bowls. Scoop rice with an ice cream scoop and place 1 scoop in the center of each dish of jambalaya. Top rice and jambalaya with chopped thyme and scallions.

(Making this dish is fun and simple. Before you know it you'll be making it your own dish by adding some of your favorite ingredients. To double the serving size, just make two pots to keep from getting confused on the measurements. ) Happy Cooking! 

Bibliography

• 30 Minute Meals (1999)
• Rachael Ray's Open House Cookbook (2000)
• Comfort Foods (2001)
• Veggie Meals (2001)
• 30-Minute Meals 2 (2003)
• Get Togethers: Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals (2003)
• $40 a Day: Best Eats in Town (2004)
• Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals: Cooking 'Round the Clock (2004)
• Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals for Kids: Cooking Rocks! (2004)
• Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals : Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes (2005)
• Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (2005)
• The Rachael Ray Show (2006)
• Rachael Ray 2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds (2006)
• Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals (2006)

Rachael Ray is famous for her catchphrases, though some criticize them. Some notable ones are:

• "E-V-O-O" (extra virgin olive oil)
• "How good does that look?"
• "I always used to do this when I worked at the HO JO as a fountain girl..."
• "Oh My Gravy!"
• "Yum-O"
• "Insanely Good!"
• "De-lish"
• "Figure-friendly"
• "Spoonula"
• "Screamin' Hot"
• "Good to go"
• "Sammie" (sandwich)
• "Stoup" (A soup/stew hybrid, thicker than soup, but thinner than stew)
• "Shimmy-Shake"
• "Smashed potatoes" (potatoes that are roughly mashed)
• "G-B" (garbage bowl) a 30 minute cook's best friend!
• "A little S & P action" (salt & pepper)
• "...Hi there I'm Rachael Ray, and I make 30 minute meals. Now that means, in the time it takes you to watch this program, I will have made a delicious and healthy meal from start to finish."
• Her closing line is: "Remember, a great meal is never more than 30 minutes away, enjoy."

 
External links:

• Official Rachael Ray Portal: All things Rachael Ray
• Every Day With Rachael Ray Magazine
• Official Television Show Site
• Rachael Ray's Food Network biography
• Fansite for Rachael Ray
• Rachael Ray Web
• Rachael Ray at the Internet Movie Database
• The Career Cookbook Rachael Ray Profile
• Rachael Ray Pictures