Jambalaya

Tonight I made our first crock pot meal! (Pause to observe this momentous occasion)...

I'm joking, of course, but I really do feel accomplished. Not because I conquered the crock pot mystery, but because we were able to return to our normal routine, for the most part:

-AG picks up M at work
-AG and M exercise together
-AG puts dinner on the 'table'
-AG and M eat dinner
-M studies, AG cleans 'kitchen', etc.

That has been our afternoon/evening routine on most days for the past 18 months (minus the quotes... We used to have a kitchen and a table where we ate. Now I have an ironing board and two double beds), and it was very comforting to have a little normalcy back in the midst of this abnormal lifestyle.  It's the little victories.

Back to the meal!

After getting inspiration from several jambalaya crock pot recipes, I pieced them together into something that turned out pretty yummy. This is my process for pretty much all cooking, no matter what. The recipe ended up like this:

2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 ribs of celery, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp thyme
1 lb chicken breasts, cubed
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced into 1inch pieces
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
2 cans no salt added petite diced tomatoes
No salt added chicken broth, as needed

Throw everything into the pot, except for the shrimp (add those for the last 30 minutes), stir it all together, and cook on high for 4 hours. I think you could also do it on low for a longer amount of time, but I'm not used to cooking like that, yet.

I served the jambalaya over brown rice.  Y'all probably don't have to use microwavable rice like this kind!  I have to admit, I was REALLY scared to try this stuff... it just seems so not right with the world.  However, being in this situation, I had to, and I honestly couldn't tell the difference. Another plus- it was the perfect amount of rice for Michael and I to share :)

My husband loved it. I think he may have used the word 'really' four times when describing how good it was... Could've been three, but who's counting, right?

Also, I used one of these slow cooker liners, so that I didn't need to attempt washing the crock pot in the teensy bathroom sink. I think the liner did a spectacular job, and I am a much happier person for having used it :)