Aunt Harriet's "Cheating" Jambalaya

If you don't know me personally then you don't know I'm a born and raised South Louisiana Cajun girl. :-) I miss my roots and love to cook as if I'm still on the bayou. This recipe came from my "Aunt" Harriet and is delicious!

5 lbs of chopped onions (yes, I said 5 lbs....get your glasses ready b/c you will cry!)
2 cups chopped celery
2 bellpeppers, chopped
1 piece saltmeat (I can never find this so I omit it or add bacon)
1 can rotel
(my mom also adds 1 can stew tomatoes but not called for in recipe)
2 cans tomato sauce
5-6 cups cooked rice
salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs shrimp or 1 lb sausage or BOTH (I like both! You can also do chicken)


Place onions, celery, bellpepper and saltmeat in a pan along with oil. Cook down until caramelized. This can take 45 minutes or up to 2 hours. It all depends on how high your heat is. Add rotel and tomato sauce. (This is where I add my bacon too.) Cook down more....about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and sausage. Cook down for another 15 minutes. Lastly add cooked rice.