Crock Pot Shrimp Jambalaya

While flipping through a bunch of my cookbooks a few weekends ago, I came across this Shrimp Jambalaya recipe. This is from the Crock Pot Slow Cooker Bible. It looked like something we would enjoy and I'm really happy we tried it - it was great!

Ingredients:

- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

- 2 stalks celery, chopped

- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic

- 2 teaspoons dried parley flakes

- 2 teaspoons dried oregano

- 1 teaspoon hot sauce

- 1/2 teaspoon thyme

- 2 pounds cooked shrimp

- 2 cups uncooked instant rice

- 2 cups fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth
- Optional: For those that prefer spicy jambalaya, I recommend adding additional spice. (I used 1 tbsp of cajun and 1 tbsp of "Slap Ya Mama" spice from Louisiana).

Combine tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, parsley,
oregano, hot sauce and thyme in crockpot.

Stir and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours.

If cooking on low, stir in the shrimp for the last 30 minutes of the 8 hours. If cooking on high, stir in the shrimp for the last 15 minutes of the 4 hours.  (Tip: Seafood is delicate and overcooks easily, becoming tough and rubbery - so watch your cooking times!)

Drain some of the juice from the jambalaya.

Prepare your rice according to package directions, substituting the chicken broth for water.
Combine the rice with the jambalaya and serve immediately.

Recipe yields 6 servings.