Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

 

Jambalaya is one of my boys favorite dishes, so when this was on the table last night for dinner, they were very happy!  I served it with some garlic bread and a side salad for a great meal....and since today is Mardi Gras...this one pot meal would be a perfect way to celebrate!  

Whenever I make any kind of one pot dish that requires browned chicken pieces, more often than not, I grill up the chicken breast whole. I do this because I find you can have better control over the chicken without overcooking it, leaving it moist and tender.  It also eliminates cutting up raw chicken, which is a plus in my books!  Once the chicken is just about done, I transfer it to a warm oven to cook through and then when I am ready to add it back to the dish, I slice it up or dice it up and add it in at the end.  So that is exactly how I made the chicken in this dish.  Try it sometime...you will be amazed at the difference. 

You can see how moist and tender this chicken stayed.  It gets added back into the dish just before serving....

Once the chicken is browned, all the diced up vegetables are added along with some spice...

Next the rice, tomatoes, and chicken broth are added...if you can, try to buy the no added salt canned tomatoes to help decrease the overall sodium in this dish, as well as low sodium chicken broth...

The dish is covered, simmered for about 20 minutes, and then the meats are added...and voila!

For added kick, I usually add liberal amounts of this hot sauce...

But that is up to you!

*I also want to note that I used Texmati Light Brown Rice ( Long Grain American Basmati ).  The nutritional stats for this rice are as follows:  Svg size - 1/4c dry, calories - 160, total fat - 1g, carb. - 33g, protein - 4g, and fiber - 1g.  If you are using the nutritional information below, be sure you use this rice or one with similar stats.  

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

from the kitchen of MKA

Printable Recipe

Servings - 6   Serving Size - 1/6th of recipe   Points Plus per serving - 7 Points+

Calories - 270.4,   Total Fat - 5.9g,   Carb. - 31.9g,   Protein - 21.4g,   Fiber - 2.9g

12 oz. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tsp. Cajun seasoning, divided

2 tsp. olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced green pepper

1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper

3 ribs celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice ( I used Texmati Light Brown Long Grain) 

4 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth

14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes, undrained

8 oz. fully cooked turkey smoked sausage, sliced into rounds ( I used Hillshire Farms brand) 

Hot sauce, to taste, optional

salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Heat nonstick skillet with olive oil over med high heat.  Season chicken breasts with 2 tsp. cajun seasoning, and salt and black pepper.  Cook chicken in hot skillet until browned on each side, but not necessarily done all the way through.   Transfer the chicken to a warm oven to continue cooking through while you prepare the rest of the dish.  

2.  To same skillet you removed the chicken from, add in the onion, green and red peppers, and celery.  Sprinkle on the remaining 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning, thyme ( and salt and pepper, if you desire).  Cook for about 5 - 6 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.  Add in the garlic, cook for another few minutes. 

3.  Next add in the uncooked rice.  Allow it to saute a little bit with the vegetables.  ( 1 - 2 minutes ) Add in the canned tomatoes and chicken broth.  Bring to boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  

4.  Take the chicken out of the oven and slice or dice as desired.  Once the rice and vegetables are done, add in the chicken and the sausage.  Stir and continue to heat briefly until the sausage is warm.  

(I took the pan off the heat and just let the heat of the rice and vegetables heat up the sausage)   Season with hot sauce and adjust salt and pepper, if desired. 

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I decided we would celebrate Mardi Gras one day early so I could bring to you a Jambalaya recipe!  It is a really good one pot dish...with as little or as much kick as you desire!  

Another great Mardi Gras recipe to make is this authentic New Orleans bread pudding.  It's unique in that it uses canned fruit..which you will find is pretty much the standard when making bread pudding in New Orleans...but it gives it the most wonderful flavor and texture.  

New Orleans Style Bread Pudding

So with that I leave you with these words:

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!"