I was out photographing the Nebula Awards all weekend, which meant that I was short on sleep and long on things to get done. I’d been hoping to make the Chicken Tortilla soup this weekend, but the fact is that I’m nervous about it. I’m sure I can make a nice enough soup, but I’ve had it in a few restaurants that totally rocked, and that’s what I want to make it like.

So, being short on time, I decided to make something simple that I knew would come out well, a Cajun Chicken and Sausage soup of some sort. Since I’ve done a gumbo recently, I didn’t want to do that, and besides, it takes quite a while to get the roux the right color/flavor.

But who says you can’t just brown some andouille sausage and chicken, saute some onions garlic and green peppers and toss in some collard greens with chicken stock and a cup of rice and call it a soup? Probably nobody, though if you do find someone, feel free to tell them I said they’re wrong.

In fact, this turned out to be a terrific soup, and it took a minimum of work.

• 1 lb boned chicken thighs
• 1 lb andouille sausage (I use Smithfield’s)
• 4 Large Green Peppers
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons Better than Bullion Chicken Stock (reduced sodium)
• 2 tablespoons Zatarain’s
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 oz Frozen Collard Greens