BECAUSE SHE'S SO HELPFUL...

Tuesday night I made jambalaya for supper.

Poor Kayla had been asking for jambalaya for four weeks.

Please mother, when will we have food again? Any food will do, but Jambalaya would taste so good and fill this hollow starving pit in my stomach.

Soon, dear child. We will have food soon, as soon as I get off my duff and get to the store....I am weary sweet daughter - weary from chopping wood and plucking chickens.

Each time I'd go to the store, she'd come home from school and say "did you get jambalaya stuff?"

And I'd slap my forehead and stare at my shoes in shame.

"Write it down," I finally told her as I slapped one of my trusty index cards on the counter.

So she started writing "J -U-M..."

"Um...Sweetie, that's not how you spell it."

"I'm spelling it the way it sounds"

Jumb - uh - lie - yah.

Now I would have been happy to see "jumb-uh-lie-yah," written on my little note card as a reminder for my next grocery trip. But because Kayla is in no way a slacker, she decided to place reminders all over my kitchen.

On my decorative chalk board - JUMB - UH - LIE-YAH
On the family white board - JUMB - UH - LIE - YAH
On the refrigerator, so large it took three sheets of paper - JUMB - UH - LIE - YAH

All with cute little geometic exclamation points.

Imagine the trouble I would have been in had I not bought JUMB - UH - LIE - YAH stuff at the store on my next grocery run.

So she finally got her jambalaya (in fact I bought two boxes) although, I don't think she fully understands just how difficult it is to make.

Sometimes I am just too tired to rip open that box of Zatarain's jambalaya mix and add water.

*sigh* She will not fully understand the lengths I'll go to for her happiness until she is a mother herself.

And now for your culinary pleasure, my jambalaya recipe. Please note: it is crucial to stick to the precise measurements in this recipe.

One family size box of Zatarain's jambalaya mix (with 50% more!!) prepared according to directions.
Some cooked chicken breast -chopped
Some smoked sausage - sliced into cute little circles
One bag of salad shrimp - which normally cost about $2.49 at our grocery store.
One can of cream of chicken soup - for those who are taste budically challenged and need to curb the spiciness of the jambalaya. You can also mix in sour cream, grated cheese, whatever.
Um...put it all together and serve at 4 different times while your family rotates through the kitchen.

It is of great importance to note that the jambalaya box will suggest ham, chicken, sausage, OR shrimp for this very complicated meal. But because I can never limit myself to one choice when it comes to food I put in three meats and call it Jambalaya Supreme(alaya).

Plus, it stretches it out into two or three meals and, since I worked so hard to prepare this one, I usually need a night or two off.