Crockpot Jambalaya

It's officially October and even better, it's a Tuesday which means New Girl and The Mindy Project. Unfortunately for me, I tend to work both jobs on Tuesdays and after a long 11 hour day of work, the last thing I want to do is slave over dinner. Come 9pm when I finally get off work, the only thing on my mind is sitting and warm food. 

For those of you who know me, you know I love soup. Making my own soup is something I love to do because I am able to control what I put into it. It's also a lot cheaper! ($5.89 for one bowl of Panera soup or $9.28 for 6-8 servings of this homemade soup - I think the better deal is obvious). 

Making soup can be a long, tedious process which is why I prefer to make it in my Crockpot (courtesy of my mama for my birthday last year). All you have to do is dump all of the ingredients in the Crockpot, go about your day, and come back to a hearty, home cooked meal. Slow cooker meals are meant to be easy and that's exactly what this recipe is!

Crockpot Jambalaya

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans no salt added petite diced tomatoes
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 14 ounces smoked turkey sausage (andouille would work too), sliced
• 1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasonings
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients, except shrimp and parsley, to slow-cooker. Stir ingredients well and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Before serving, add shrimp to the slow cooker and cook an additional 10 minutes until shrimp are pink and cooked through (if using cooked shrimp, add to slow cooker to warm for 2 minutes). Serve over rice and garnish with fresh parsley. 

Adapted from: Alaska From Scratch