This recipe has been in my recipe box for a number of years, I don’t remember where it originally came from, but it may have been shared with me by a fellow Weight Watchers member. 

I love it because you can make it as spicy or as mild as you like and can customize it to your taste.

Jambalaya

1 c. diced ham, sliced kielbasa, smoked sausage or andouille sausage

2 onions, coarsely chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

½ green pepper, chopped

28 oz. can whole tomatoes (crushed tomatoes work as well)

¼ c. tomato paste

8 oz. tomato sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

½ tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. Cajun seasoning (or more to your taste)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 c. long-grain white rice (not instant rice)

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled

Combine the meat, onions, celery, pepper, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, thyme, Cajun seasoning, oil and rice in a slow cooker.  Cook on high 4 to 5 hours. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are pink, about 1 hour longer.  

You can add red pepper flakes or hot sauce if you like heat.  You can also omit the rice when cooking and then cook some instant rice and serve the sauce over the instant rice.  This works well if you need to cook this for a longer amount of time, just reduce the heat to low. I also prefer to omit the rice and cook instant rice because this makes a fairly large quantity of sauce and we eat it over several days/meals and this way the rice doesn’t absorb all the liquid.