In honor of hard work - crock pot jambalaya

Living in a converted barn really leaves a lot of room for improvement. There is always something that can been updated, fixed or remodeled. Always.

Unfortunately, my husband and I don't exactly have the motivation to bust all of the projects out in a timely manner. Both of us have been struck by a terrible case of project ADHD, easily distracted by more exciting endeavors, for him beach volleyball usually and for me cooking or baking. On rare occasions we get crazy and start working on the barn again. This time around we were lucky enough to get a helping hand from a good friend who is the ideal project cheerleader and hard, intelligent worker. Let the fire pit and paver project begin.

It's busy days like this that scream for an easy crock pot recipe. Jambalaya is an easy to make, delicious and hearty meal, a perfect way to full empty hungry bellies after working outside all day.

Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole dish consisting of essentially, meat, veggies, rice, seasonings and stock. For this jambalaya, I used some key Creole ingredients including the holy trinity of celery, peppers and onions, andouille sausage, rice, tomatoes, shrimp and chicken. And the best part is that it takes about 10 minutes to throw it all together at the beginning of the day and ready by dinner time with no fuss. Love it! Oh and did I mention that your house will smell fabulous?!

Crock Pot Jambalaya
Serves 4 generous portions

Adapted from Robin Miller, Food Network

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces andouille sausages, diced
1 28-ounce can tomatoes
1 medium to large onion diced
1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
6 gloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
Several shakes of hot sauce
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (here's a video on how to devein shrimp)
2 cups brown rice, cooked

Directions:
In a crock pot, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, celery and chicken broth. Stir in hot sauce, spices and seasonings, cover and cook on low for eight hours. At the eight hour mark, stir in the shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through, about five minutes. Discard bay leaves and ladle mixture over cooked rice. Enjoy!

Sorry, no finished product picture, we were too hungry and the jambalaya smelled way too good to stop for a photo session!