Crock-Pot Jambalaya

With high temperatures only reaching the low 50s this weekend, I thought we could use something to warm us up. 50 degree temperatures may seem warm to my Chicago friends, but after a week of temperatures in the 90s, this was quite a cool down.

Here is what you will need. This may seem a bit much for the recipe, but I was making a bigger batch.

Dump everything but the shrimp and the rice into the Crock-Pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. 

Take some of the juices from your Crock-Pot to save to make your rice.

Here is what is looks like with half the time surpassed. 

With about 45 minutes to an hour left, cook your rice with the juices rather than water according to the box. You can also choose to cook the rice in the Crock-Pot, but I feel its safer to add at the end.

With about 15 minutes left, take out the bay leaves and add the shrimp.

Stir in your rice that you have cooked. You can let it sit and cook with the mixture for several more minutes or serve right away.

Cornbread is a great side to this dish.

Recipe:

Ingredients

2 pounds of medium shrimp, tail off

2 pounds of chicken, cut into bite sized cubes

1 pound of andouille sausage, sliced and halved

4 cups of instant rice

2 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth

2 (28 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes

2 medium onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

2-3 jalapeno peppers, diced (leave seeds)

1 1/2 tablespoons of creole seasoning

1 1/2 tablespoons of oregano

1 tablespoon of hot sauce

3-4 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of thyme

2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Add everything to your Crock-Pot but the rice and shrimp. Save some of the juice to use for your rice. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. With about 45 minutes left, use juice you saved and make your rice with it instead of water. Follow directions according to box.
3. Remove the bay leaves and add shrimp with 15 minutes left. 
4. Once the 8 hours is up, stir in the rice and serve.