Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Not long ago, our oldest son said he really wanted some jambalaya. I have never made that so I am not sure where the request came from. However, if you knew this son and his eating habits, that request would have surprised you. Even a year again, he likely wouldn't have touched rice, shrimp, or tomatoes. Jambalaya (our version) has all three!

Not long after the request was made, a slow cooker jambalaya recipe appeared on Pinterest. I was intrigued; the picture of it made it look delicious.

So knowing it was going to be quite a bit cooler today, I planned to make it. I ran home at lunch, threw the ingredients in the slow cooker, and came home several hours later to a most wonderful smell. Jambalaya.

Here is the link to the original recipe. I stuck fairly close to it since this was my first time to make it, though I had to alter a couple things due to lack of supplies...

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes. When I say chicken breasts, I always mean skinless and boneless unless I specify otherwise. Oh, and I really haven't figured out how to cute it into cubes. I just use scissors and cut it into small chunks. :)
1 lb smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (don't drain). Confession: I didn't check to see if I had enough diced tomatoes. I didn't. Luckily I had a can of mild Rotel which is mostly tomatoes. I used it too.
2 tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth (Note: I really used closer to 2 since that was the container it was in; I hated to waste any.)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Optional: shrimp. I really wanted shrimp in mine. However, I accidentally grabbed a bag of the frozen COOKED shrimp when I meant to get the frozen RAW shrimp. The cooked shrimp worked okay but I would have preferred the raw to let it "cook" in the seasonings.

white rice or instant rice (I used white long grain enriched; I believe I made 6 servings)
Note: The directions on the original call say to add celery which was not in the ingredients list, so I have no idea how much. However, my family would shun them anyway, so I did not add any.

Directions:
In a slow cooker (and of course, I used a liner), mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

Cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on High.

If you are adding shrimp, add it about 30 minutes before eating. Shrimp cooks quickly.

Mix in cooked rice for about 15 minutes to warm through.

Enjoy! (We had cornbread muffins with it)