Be potluck star with savory jambalaya | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Be potluck star with savory jambalaya | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Wednesday, April 19, 2006

TASTE
Be potluck star with savory jambalaya

•	On the sweet course

By Elaine Magee

Using brown rice, chicken and light sausage, jambalaya is satisfying and pretty healthy. A family-sized pan is easy to throw together.

To complete my four-part potluck series, I am sharing perhaps the ultimate potluck entree — jambalaya. There's something for everyone in this dish — roasted chicken, lean sausage and shrimp. It may take two hours to bake in the oven, but it's pretty easy to throw together at the front end. And the result is a darned impressive potluck dish.

The original recipe called for ham, chicken, sausage and shrimp; I deleted the fatty, salty ham, kept the chicken and sausage and made the shrimp optional. I used reduced-fat sausage (there are quite a few options in stores) and decreased the amount. My last change was to use higher fiber and higher nutrient brown rice instead of white. A fragrant basmati brown rice would be good here; this variety also maintains a firm texture.

This resulted in some BIG changes per cup of jambalaya. The calories went from 553 to 241, the fat grams from 28 to 4.8, grams of saturated fat from 9.5 to 1.2, and cholesterol decreased from 183 milligrams to 49.

To make a family-sized recipe of jambalaya and not a potluck size, cut all of the ingredients in half and use a small roasting pan instead of a large. Cooking time is the same.

TAMMY'S TERRIFIC JAMBALAYA

2 pounds raw, boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces (or use 4 cups of shredded roasted chicken)

12 ounces reduced-fat Italian sausage or reduced-fat turkey kielbasa, cut into slices

2 medium green peppers, chopped (red, yellow or orange bell peppers can be used)

2 medium onions, chopped

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne red pepper (add more or less for desired spice)

6 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

16 ounces frozen cooked shrimp, tail-on, peeled, and deveined (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a large roasting pan (except the shrimp) and stir to blend together well. Cover roasting pan.

Bake for 2 hours, stirring mixture after one hour. At the end of 2 hours, stir in the cooked shrimp, cover and let sit to blend flavors for 15 minutes. Serve.

Makes 16 cups of jambalaya (not including shrimp).

NOTE: the recipe was analyzed using Applegate Farms Sweet Italian chicken & turkey sausage with 150 calories and 8 grams of fat per 3-ounce link.

Per serving (1 cup of jambalaya, not including shrimp): 241 calories, 20.3 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 4.8 g fat (1.2 g saturated fat, 1.8 g monounsaturated fat, 1.4 g polyunsaturated fat), 49 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 328 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 18 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids: 0 g. Weight Watchers points: 4. Omega-6 fatty acids: 1.4 g.

Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and writer. Her latest book is "Comfort Food Makeovers." Visit her Web site at www.recipedoctor.com.

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