Not the best presentation, but the tastiness is there.
I made jambalaya… and it smells awesome.
Tastes pretty good, too, as it turns out. All in all, not bad for a first try. I’ll post the recipe, even though I’m sure I will tweak it as I make it again. It’s certainly in the rotation.
I made some changes to make it a little healthier. In place of regular andouille sausage, I located some Johnsonville Cajun chicken sausage that cut the fat in half while preserving a nice spicy taste.
Here ya go:
Jambalaya
Ingredients:
- 12 shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into chunks
- 4 ounces chicken breast, diced
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (mix up the colors for visual appeal)
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used canned… it was what I had in the house)
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Tabasco Chipotle sauce – SPW likes the smokiness)
- 3/4 cup rice
- 3 cups chicken stock (salt free preferred)
- 6 ounces Johnsonville Cajun chicken sausage
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well. In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat with onion, pepper and celery, 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Stir in rice and slowly add broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Depending on your taste preference, you might want to mix more seasoning in with your proteins. Also, more veggies would probably not hurt the cause.
Creole seasoning:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup
There ya have it. The good news is that a serving should be around 450 calories. Not too shabby for a filling meal.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Song of the Day: Not The Same – Ben Folds with the Dartmouth Aires
Currently Reading: 12.21 – Dustin Thomason
Memoirs of a Soon-to-Be Former Fat Guy 