Shrimp Jambalaya

This is a Cajun dish that I made when Irene and Derek came over. I thought it turned out pretty well, just a little spicy. On the other hand, it is Cajun, and when you eat it with rice it's not too bad. It's also a slow-cooker recipe, so you chop everything up, toss it in, and forget about it for seven hours.

Ingredients:

12 oz. boneless, skinless, chicken breast

8 oz. smoked sausage of your choice

8 oz. smoked ham, diced

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

1 14-1/2 oz. can whole tomatoes

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1-1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1-1/2 tsp prepared hot sauce

1-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

1 lb. fresh shrimp, shelled and cleaned

4 cups cooked rice

Cut the chicekn into bite-sized pieces. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the shrimp and rice to the slow cooker. Cover; cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours. Add the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Pour the Shrimp Jambalaya over the rice when ready to serve.

My changes: I didn't use fresh shrimp, because I wasn't sure if it would cook correctly or if I would know or whatever. I just used frozen, fully cooked shrimp, and it came out fine. I cooked it on Low for 8 hours. I don't recommend cooking on High unless it's an emergency and you don't have a choice. Generally, cooking on Low works better for slow cooker recipes. I also might increase the amount of rice, we ran out of it towards the end. As I mentioned before, if I make it again, I might decrease the amount of cayenne pepper and hot sauce.