Jambalaya

I shifted this a little from another Snow family favorite from Audrey Goodrich. She's Dave's cousin. Impressed I actually know that? Me too. You can add pepper/chili powder as much as you want to make this spicier, but what I have listed is pretty spicy to start with.

Seasoning:
2 whole bay leaves
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp rubbed sage

Additional ingredients:
2 T butter
1/2 lb chopped ham (2 c)
3/4 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (2 c)
1 c. onions, chopped
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped green peppers
1 T minced garlic
1/2 c. canned tomato sauce
1 c. peeled and chopped tomatoes (I usually use fresh ones, but diced tomatoes in a can work fine as long as you drain them)
2 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 c. uncooked rice (this recipe uses white rice. If you want to use brown, you will need to add more liquid and cook for longer.)

Combine seasoning in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large skillet, melt butter over high heat. Add ham and chicken and cook until meat starts to brown. Stir in the seasoning mix and 1/2 c each of onions, celery, and bell peppers, and the garlic. Cook until vegetables start to get tender, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring fairly constantly and scraping pan bottom as needed. Stir in the remaining 1/2 c. each of onions, celery, and bell peppers and the tomatoes. Remove from heat. Stir in the stock and rice, mixing well.

Transfer mixture into and ungreased 9 x 13 in pan. Bake uncovered until rice is tender, about 1 hour. Stir well and remove bay leaves. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.