Chicken, Sausage & (imitation) Crab "Dirty Rice"

As you know, I love Cajun dishes.  I think my favorite dishes to prepare are one pot meals.  There is something very warming about being able to throw everything in one pot, cook and transfer to a bowl to enjoy.  What I did was purposefully make this dish one day ahead of time.  I think any dish with lots of flavor in it gets better when it sits and the flavors get a better chance to meld together.

I adapted my recipe from the Inspiring the Everyday.  I used more of everything, especially the rice, than their recipe called for.  When I put it away after cooking, all night I kept thinking I would cook more rice and add it to the dish but when I when to reheat it, it had a good ratio of meat to rice.  So I let it be.  I might increase the amount of wild rice called for in the recipe.

Recipe
Chicken, Sausage & (imitation) Crab “Dirty Rice” (Adapted from Inspiring the Everyday):

1 cup basmati rice [3/4 cup chicken stock -or- water]
1 Package wild rice [1 cup water or more]
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Emeril’s Essence
2 tbsp Smoked Parprika
1 tbsp Mexican Chili Powder
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Emeril’s Essence
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
½ large green bell pepper
1/2 large red bell pepper
2 jalapenos
1 hot red pepper
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2-14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup homemade chicken stock
1 teaspoon Emeril’s Essence
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon crushed chilies
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 Chicken Andouille chicken sausages
1 lb of chicken tenders
1/2 lb imitation crab

Preheat oven to 375°F.

1. On separate baking trays toss cauliflower florets with oil and Emeril’s Essence and smoked paprika. Roast in oven until tender – about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile cook the rice in the amount of water specified. Drain wild rice if needed after it is cooked.
3. In a roomy pan sauté sliced sausage and chicken (I dry rubbed the chicken for 1 hour with Emeril’s essence, smoked paprika and Mexican Chili Powder) in olive oil until browned. Remove from pan.
4. In the same pan, sauté onions, celery and bell peppers until tender, adding more olive oil if necessary.
5. Add garlic, cook for a minute then add remaining spices and cook for another minute.
6. Add tomatoes and stock. Simmer on low until mixture has thickened, approximately 15 minutes.
7. Fold in cooked rice, chicken, sausage, crab and cauliflower adjusting seasoning to taste.