05 Nov Southern Living: Crock Pot Jambalaya

I gave this recipe from Southern Living a shot tonight — and it was alright.

I just left wanting something more. I wanted flavors to pop out and smack me across cheek. But that didn’t happen. Maybe cooking the shrimp separately would help because, honestly, they just wound up completely flavorless. I reviewed some of the comments after I made the giant crock pot full of the Louisiana goodness. People mentioned not using white rice, but Zatarain’s Dirty Rice instead. Some even added Old Bay, which I thought sounded good too, but maybe not the most authentic. I think that would have really jazzed it up. (See what I did there? Jazz? Clever.)

Also, my end product wound up looking pretty soupy. So, I’d give it a little more time or cut down on some of the chicken broth.

So give it a shot, let me know what you think, and what substitutions you make to jazz up this LA staple.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole spice mix
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 3/4 cups long-grain rice (Try Zatarain’s instead)

Combine chicken, sausage, onion, green pepper, celery, tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, spice mix, thyme and oregano in a large (5-quart) slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 hours.

Add shrimp and rice; raise heat to high and cook for 30 minutes more.