And here we go again, I don’t think it was the first power outage we had this year, but they always sting a little bit more in winter, when its cold, rainy and dark and you can’t just sit outside, drink beer, BBQ, enjoy the night and then go to bed. No instead we are huddled up around the gas fireplace – yeah for gas fireplaces in these situations, eating bad take out food, that already had cooled down on the way home because traffic was a nightmare. During power outages of course also the street lights don’t work which equals mayhem. Sub 45 degree temperatures, standing water on the roadways, power outages, unbelievable bad traffic and shorter periods of daylight wear on my soul. – 26 more days until my vacation in sunny El Salvador – yes you will hear it from now on in every post ;-). I was so happy this morning when the power came back on at 6:02 a.m.,and I could re-heat my Jambalaya for lunch that I had cooked the day before.

You can cook the Jambalaya in a crock pot for 4 -6 hours which really brings out the flavors of the seasonings or you can cook it quicker on the stove for 1 hour.

Jambalaya (serves about 4-6):

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs chicken thighs, I took the ones with bone and skin
• 1 lbs Andouille Sausage
• 1 10-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 14-oz can chicken stock
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves
• 3 tsp parsley flakes
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 cup instant rice, uncooked
• 1 lbs shrimp (optional)
• green onion for garnish
• Note: if you like it more saucy add additional chicken broth and/or a can of crushed tomatoes

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in the bottom of a crock pot along with the sausage and diced vegetables.
2. Combine the tomatoes, broth, tomato paste and the seasonings in a small mixing bowl then add to the crock pot.
3. Set your cook timer. I cooked mine for 6 hours in the crock pot, or just cook it for 1 hour in a regular pot on low heat. If you like to add shrimp to your Jambalaya then add them in the last 30 minutes.
4. Cook the rice according to the package instructions and serve the Jambalaya on top of it.

Guten Appetit!