Tuesday: Jambalaya

I admit it.  This smelled so good cooking all day long.  Then, when I lifted the lid and took one look at this slop, I was ready to admit defeat.  I mean, it just looks like something I'd feed the hog (if we had a hog, that is).

We went ahead and ate it, and I decided that I wouldn't call it a complete flop. After all, it was quite tasty.

Add all of the following to the CrockPot:

2 c. chicken broth

1 Tbs. Creole seasoning

1 large green bell pepper, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 large stalks celery, diced

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 lb. kielbasa, sliced into half-moons

3/4 lb. skinless, boneless chicken, cut into cubes

1 c. uncooked regular long-grain white rice

Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.  Then, add 1/2 lb. fresh medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, and cook for 40 additional minutes. 

**Now, that is what the recipe said to do and that is what I did.  However, next time, I plan to add the rice at the end along with the shrimp.  It was just so overcooked, it had turned to mush at some point during the day.**

Cost analysis?  I expected this meal to be pretty expensive because of all the meat involved;  however, it made enough that we will be able to eat it again, so that cuts the cost.  It's really a one-pot meal, so all I added was a dinner salad and a few slices of rosemary bread, and we were ready to eat.  At $8.06 for the meal, we were looking at $1.61 per person for tonight. 

How did it go over?  Well, I flaked out and forgot to remove a helping for Girl 2 before I added the shrimp. So, my daughter with the serious seafood allergy got leftover macaroni and cheese and was honestly pretty pleased with Mommy's slip up.  Boy ate it up and earned himself a popsicle for dessert.  Girl 1 opted not to eat it and just to wait until breakfast for something that looked a bit more appetizing to make its way to her bowl.  But, she didn't want to be too rude about it.  "You know, Mom, your tastebuds change every 7 years, so I'd be happy to try it again when I'm 14."  John and I both ate it up.  I admit, the texture of the rice was unappetizing and made me think of something that Miss Hannigan would've served up to her little pig-droppings, but the flavoring was so good!  I'm not going to paste this one into my big scrapbook of favorite recipes just yet, but I'm also not going to send it to the trashcan until I've tried adding the rice in at the end. 

If anyone decides to give this one a try, please report back on how it turns out!