With a crockpot, this jambalaya, adapted from Second Round, Tea-Time at the Masters, can be prepared without heating up the kitchen, a big plus this time of the year. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Crockpot creation

Handy appliance is also good for summer dishes, as this jambalaya proves

Web posted July 26, 2000

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 Crockpot jambalaya

By Karin Calloway
Special Columnist

Your crockpot was a lifesaver in the fall, cooking a warm meal while you were gone all day. But don't keep it sitting on the shelf in the summer just because you usually use it to cook beef stew, pot roast and other hearty cool-weather dishes.

Crockpots not only cook while you're away, they don't heat up the kitchen the way a full-size oven does. Use one in the summer with lighter fare, like today's recipe for crockpot jambalaya, an adaptation of an oven-baked quick jambalaya from Second Round, Tea-Time at the Masters.

The jambalaya, like other rice dishes, doesn't need an all-day cook in the crockpot. All it takes is two hours on high or four hours on low, just enough time to do some yard work, run a few errands or take the children to the pool.

The recipe combines long-grain rice, chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast meat and smoked sausage with canned chicken broth, French onion soup and mushrooms. Cajun seasoning, Tabasco sauce and chopped green onions season the mixture nicely.

Get all of Karin's recipes in the Quick Cooking archive. FILE/STAFF

The seasonings make it ``jambalaya,'' but they can be omitted when preparing the dish for young children with sensitive palettes. Or reduce the Cajun seasoning to half a teaspoon and pass the Tabasco sauce at the table.

Now that you know you can cook more than beef stew in your crockpot, come up with your own chicken-and-rice combinations.

Substitute a package of yellow rice mix for the regular rice and use all chicken broth for the liquid for crockpot paella. Add some defrosted frozen peas just before serving.

Use arborio rice and add a bit of lemon juice to the chicken broth, omit the sausage and stir in some diced asparagus near the end of cooking for a lemony chicken and asparagus risotto.

In the fall, hang on to this recipe and cook it in a conventional oven.

Simply combine the ingredients in a covered casserole and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Serve your jambalaya with a big green salad full of produce-stand tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers. Top with your favorite dressing. Add a loaf of good, crusty bread and your favorite ice cream for dessert, and dinner will be a snap.

Crockpot jambalaya

1 cup raw, long-grain parboiled rice

1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch rounds

1 10 1/2-ounce can French Onion Soup

1 14 1/2-ounce can low sodium chicken broth

1 4-ounce can slice mushrooms, drained

2 dashes Tabasco sauce, optional

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

2 green onions, chopped

Combine all ingredients in 4- or 5-quart crockpot. Cover and cook on high setting for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: The ingredients can be combined in a covered casserole and baked at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Karin Calloway is a Web chef for Viking Range Corp. (www.vikingrange.com) and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. You can write her in care of Newsroom, The Augusta Chronicle, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, Ga. 30913. Or send her e-mail to karingca@aol.com.