Dashed Dreams

Well friends, our dreams were dashed late Saturday evening when my beloved Buckeyes blew a significant lead and gave the game to a tough Kansas squad. It was a great run, and now I will turn my sports fandom attention to the Indians.

Originally this meal was going to celebrate the Buckeyes' run in New Orleans, but instead this is simply an ode to one of the hubs' fave meals - jambalaya.

I have never made this souped-up stew before, mostly because a lot of the recipes involve a whole lot of ingredients that I don't feel like dealing with. This twist on jamabalya kept things simple for yours truly, and with the exception of the higher than normal sodium content, seems like a somewhat healthy meal.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalya
Source: Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp canola
• 6oz reduced-fat smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/2 c. chopped celery
• 1/2 c. chopped green pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 c. uncooked long-grain white rice (used brown)
• 1 c. water
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 14.5oz low-sodium chicken broth (used no-salt)
• 14.5oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 c. shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken (used plain baked)

Directions:

• Heat a Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add sausage, saute 1 min or until browned. Add onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic; saute 6 mins or until tender. Add rice and next 5 ingredients (through broth); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 mins or until rice is done.
• Remove thyme sprigs, discard. Stir in tomatoes and chicken. Cook 3 mins or until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 4 servings (approx 1-1/4 c./serving)
Per serving: 341 cals; 5.8g fat (1.3g sat, 2g mono, 0.9g poly); 19.3g protein; 50.6g carb; 2.8g fiber; 44mg chol; 723mg sodium

Reviews:
The kid was a little wary of this meal since I (unsuccesfully) tricked him into thinking tempeh was chicken last week. Once the hubs - chicken-cutting sous chef  - confirmed via pinky swear it was indeed real chicken, he dug in and ate a nice helping, with the exception of the sausage. The hubs pretty much licked his bowl clean and declared it "great." I thought it had a lot of flavor, and wouldn't really change anything, except for the sodium.

Ranking:
Three Forks (sodium peeps)

Action shot! Still simmering