The sole redeeming factor of our long, sweltering, southern summers (well, besides fresh produce and beautiful beaches) is football season. Though I’m not loyal to a college team (I support the SEC in general—best conference in the country!), I do love my New Orleans Saints. Who dat?!!…

Tonight, to “celebrate” our first pre-season game against Kansas City, we enjoyed this simple slow-cooker jambalaya.

All you need to do is mix the ingredients the night before (or in the morning), set your slow-cooker, head off to work, and, upon returning home, pour yourself a cold beer while mixing in the cooked rice in preparation to eat. Couldn’t be easier…

Slow-Cooker Chicken + Andouille Jambalaya

serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs, chopped
• 12 oz andouille sausage, choppped
• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 1 white/yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 celery ribs, diced
• 2 scallions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2-3 tsp Creole seasoning (adjust to taste)
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• a few shakes Tabasco sauce
• approximately 4 cups cooked rice*

Directions

1. In a slow-cooker pot, mix all ingredients (except for the rice).
2. Set to low heat and let cook for 7-8 hours.
3. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
4. Prepare rice according to package directions; add rice to the jambalaya mixture, and warm for an additional 20 minutes.
5. Garnish with fresh parsley and scallions (if desired) and serve!

*We used 2 packets of boil-in-a-bag rice. (We’re lazy.)

I recommend going carbohydrate-crazy and serving with pieces of fresh baguette and your favorite cold beer. It is football season after all, so you’ve got to live a little. 🙂

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