Jambalaya Report
So, I made jambalaya. This is what I actually put it:
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 links chorizo, sliced & cooked
2 cloves minced garlic
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
4 pods okra, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
4 cups low sodium organic chicken broth (one big thingie)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
3 bay leaves
dashes of salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper/chili powder
When I tasted the finished product, it was really underseasoned, so I started throwing in salt, garlic salt, black pepper, red pepper, thyme, oregano and chili pepper... probably a teaspoon to a tablespoon of each. There was too much chicken, not enough rice, veggies or broth. I think if I were to make it again, it'd look a bit more like this:
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 links chorizo, sliced & cooked
3 cloves garlic
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
5 ribs celery, diced
5 pods okra, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked brown rice
3 bay leaves
2 tsps each salt, black pepper, red pepper, thyme, oregano & chili powder
Since everything that needed to be cooked was pre-cooked, everything was fine for the four hours on high that I had it - the rice cooked in that time and the vegetables cooked too.
The shredded chicken is really easy to do - just get a good size chicken, remove gizzards & excess fat, season with salt & pepper, stick about half a stick of butter in the cavity and put it in a crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. When it's done, the meat pretty much just falls off the chicken - little to no carving necessary. I usually just put the excess in tupperware and throw it in the freezer for meals just like this. There's also about a cup & a half of chicken stock at the bottom of the pot that you can freeze for later dates. I fit a 5 pound chicken in a 4 or 5 quart crockpot without issue.
Of course, I haven't had lunch yet, so I don't know how good it is. Will let you know in a bit.
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 links chorizo, sliced & cooked
2 cloves minced garlic
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
4 pods okra, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
4 cups low sodium organic chicken broth (one big thingie)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
3 bay leaves
dashes of salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper/chili powder
When I tasted the finished product, it was really underseasoned, so I started throwing in salt, garlic salt, black pepper, red pepper, thyme, oregano and chili pepper... probably a teaspoon to a tablespoon of each. There was too much chicken, not enough rice, veggies or broth. I think if I were to make it again, it'd look a bit more like this:
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 links chorizo, sliced & cooked
3 cloves garlic
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
5 ribs celery, diced
5 pods okra, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked brown rice
3 bay leaves
2 tsps each salt, black pepper, red pepper, thyme, oregano & chili powder
Since everything that needed to be cooked was pre-cooked, everything was fine for the four hours on high that I had it - the rice cooked in that time and the vegetables cooked too.
The shredded chicken is really easy to do - just get a good size chicken, remove gizzards & excess fat, season with salt & pepper, stick about half a stick of butter in the cavity and put it in a crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. When it's done, the meat pretty much just falls off the chicken - little to no carving necessary. I usually just put the excess in tupperware and throw it in the freezer for meals just like this. There's also about a cup & a half of chicken stock at the bottom of the pot that you can freeze for later dates. I fit a 5 pound chicken in a 4 or 5 quart crockpot without issue.
Of course, I haven't had lunch yet, so I don't know how good it is. Will let you know in a bit.