Minute Maid Shrimp Jambalaya recipe

If you’re new to my blog, you may be surprised to see a number of recipes on the site. But cooking with Coca-Cola -- and our other drinks -- is nothing new.

I love to cook, and -- while I haven’t tried each recipe on the site -- I love the idea of using juices, Coke and Sprite to add a special flavor to dishes.

Today’s recipe is from a 1971 recipe booklet from Minute Maid juices. Here in Atlanta, the cold weather and the football playoffs make this an ideal time to try a nice warm dish like jambalaya.

Minute Maid Shrimp Jambalaya

4 slices bacon
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup uncooked long grain rice
1 ½ cups Minute Maid orange juice, reconstituted*
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can (1 lb.) tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups frozen shrimp
1 package (10 oz.) frozen okra, partially thawed and sliced
¼ cup sherry, if desired

* Reconstituted concentrate: Add water to concentrate, per can directions.

In large fry pan, or Dutch oven, fry bacon until crisp; remove bacon and crumble. In bacon drippings, sauté onion and green pepper until tender crisp. Add remaining ingredients except shrimp, okra, sherry and crumbled bacon; cover and simmer for 30 minutes until rice is tender. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until okra is tender.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

The recipe booklet describes this as “an orange, tomato and sherry flavored fiesta!” With that description -- and bacon -- you really can’t go wrong!

See our other recipes.