Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

Let's talk recipes that promise one thing & deliver another....

LIKE. THIS. ONE.

The first time is was neither EASY or Jambalaya.  It was a HOT MESS.

The second time was a charm...
The first time I made it, I had crunchy rice in goop.  But, it had great flavor.  So, I gave it a second chance & "tweaked" the recipe.  (I love the word "tweak".  It reminds me of You've Got Mail. You probably love the movie too if you know what part of the movie I'm talking about.)

Shopping List:

2 lbs of cooked chicken (I used breasts/diced)

1 lb of smoked sausage (cut into 2 inch slices)

1 large onion (chopped)

1 large red bell pepper (seeded & chopped)

3 stalks of celery (chopped)

1 28 oz can of tomatoes with juice

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

4 cups of chicken broth

1 tablespoon Cajun/Creole seasoning (I used two!)

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 lb of shrimp (peeled & deveined)

The shrimp is OPTIONAL...it's optional...because I forgot it when I was grocery shopping.  However, it is fantastic in the dish.  But, omitting it does cut down on the cost.  

2 cups long-grain rice

 

Chop your veggies & sausage.  

While you are dicing, cook your chicken breasts.  I seasoned mine with garlic, onion, & creole seasoning.

First time, I made the recipe.  I didn't cook the chicken before or saute my veggies & sausage.  B.I.G. mistake.  Trust me on this.

 

A little side note...I keep my spices on a Lazy Susan next to the stove that I made from thrift store finds.  So convenient!

 

Once you have sauteed your veggies to your preference, add the canned tomatoes & seasonings.  Stir.

 

Remove your chicken breasts from broth.

Save your broth!

 

Add 2 cups of broth (what you just used to cook your chicken) to your pan.  Let simmer.  

Dice chicken.

 

Add diced chicken to pan.

 

Transfer ingredients from the pan into your crock pot.  Now, I made this the evening before.  So, I refrigerated my pot overnight.  Either way, set your crock pot to "warm" and let "cook" for 8 hours or so.

 

Take your leftover broth and store in containers & freeze for future use.  

Now, this is where I had to vary the recipe again.  The original called for the crock pot to be raised to high heat & add the rice (& shrimp) 30 minutes before serving.  However, my rice NEVER cooked & stayed crunchy & then thickened to goop despite adding more & more broth.

The second time I made it, I cooked the 2 cups of rice in 4 cups of the broth I had stored.  Then I served the mixture OVER the rice.  It created the perfect consistency & no more crunchy rice.  If I were serving it with shrimp, I would add the shrimp 30 minutes before serving, but keep the crock pot on low or warm.

Above, you can see that the mixture got too thick when adding the rice.  And, by the next day...GOOP!

Store the leftover rice & mixture in separate containers.

This is some good Southern eats, y'all.  Give it a try.  And, be glad my family got to be the guinea pigs the first go round!