Monday, September 28, 2009

Jambalaya love

You know me. I love my slow cooker. Sometimes, though, I feel as though our relationship is getting a little stale. Variations on a theme. Meat, potatoes, onions. Heat and eat. Not always, of course: I've made some very interesting stuff in there over the years. But I needed something new, with a little oomph.
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Found it!
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Some weeks ago, I accompanied Barb to the Dixboro General Store, where she was buying her couch. As she combed through upholstery samples, I strolled through the creaky side rooms, the ones chock full of cookie jars and such, and that's where I found this:
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A slow-cooker dinner kit! How cool is that!
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What with moving to the new place and all, though, it took me forever to get around to making it. I finally did, yesterday. The box contains a rice packet, a spice packet, and a packet of dehydrated vegetables. You put chicken and andouille sausage in the bottom of the crock, then you layer in the contents of the packets, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, chicken broth, and white wine. Lid on. Step away.
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I was alarmed at first at how much liquid there was, rising inexorably up toward the lid! But then the rice and dried vegetables started absorbing it and the crisis was averted. And then the aroma started wafting gloriously through the house. All that flavor just got beautifully infused, and by the time we stuck a ladle in there several hours later, it was all thick and flavorful and, well, thoroughly jambalaya-like. Not wildly spicy, but the sausage gave it a nice little bite. Oh, man. So good.
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But there was something that tasted better: the leftovers!
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Now I want to try the other dinner kits from this same Delicae Pantry brand. I don't think the store carried more than a couple, so I might have to place an order online. Maybe I could make one a month or something.
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See? All it took was one hot date and I'm in love with my slow cooker all over again.