I’m (reluctantly) back in Boston after a wonderful vacation in St. John. Allow me to share some pics so you can see just how wonderful it was, and to explain just how reluctant I am to be back 🙂
This was the sunset from our house on the first night.
View for coffee on the back porch every morning.
New friend 🙂
And I realize that it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted any new recipes. Getting back in the swing of real life after vacation is exhausting! I need another vacation just to recover 🙂
Jealous yet?
I intended for my next blog post to be an original recipe for my favorite lasagna with zucchini noodles, but the zoodles didn’t cooperate quite the way I wanted them to on my first run. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious! But I’d like to make a few tweaks before I publish.
So instead of lasagna, this week you get Gimme Some Oven‘s delicious jambalaya that the boy and I made in St. John! It’s not low-carb, but it’s full of fresh veggies, healthy proteins, and complex carbs.
*Disclaimer – I did not make any changes or adaptations to the original recipe. Everything about the recipe below is copied exactly from here. Nutritional calculations and photos are mine.
Jambalaya via Gimme Some Oven
Serves 6-8Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (*more/less to taste, see note below)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 lb. andouille sausage, thinly sliced into rounds
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked white or brown rice
- 2 Tbsp. Cajun or Creole seasoning (**more/less to taste, see note below)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. thyme, crushed
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- (optional) 1 cup thinly-sliced okra
- salt and pepper
- (optional garnishes: chopped fresh parsley, thinly-sliced green onions, hot sauce)
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons. olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion, bell peppers, jalapeno and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and mostly cooked. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, chicken and sausage, and stir to combine. Continue sauteing for an additional 5 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink and mostly cooked.
Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, rice, Cajun spice, bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked, stirring occasionally. (Don’t forget to stir, or the rice may burn on the bottom of the pan.)
Once the rice is tender, add in the shrimp and okra and stir to combine. Let the mixture continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked and no longer pink. Remove bay leaf and season the jambalaya with salt and pepper and hot sauce and additional Cajun/Creole seasoning if needed. Remove from heat and serve with optional garnishes if desired.
*If you like spicy jambalaya, I recommend adding 2 jalapenos with their seeds in. If you like it mild, I’d go with just 1 seeded jalapeno. Or you can go somewhere in between, and always add extra hot sauce at the end if it’s too mild.
**I also like heavily seasoned jambalaya, so I go with a full 2 Tbsp. If you think that might be too much, I recommend adding just 1 Tbsp and then taste-testing the rice before adding the shrimp. If you want to add more at that point, just stir some extra seasoning in when you add the shrimp.
Nutrition Info:Â 1 Serving (1/6 recipe)
Note: calculated using 1 lb chicken breast, turkey sausage, and brown rice
Calories: 507
Fat: 15.9g
Cholesterol: 193.3mg
Sodium: 1286mg
Carbs: 40.5g
Sugar: 4.7g
Protein: 48g
This strongwoman loves the Virgin Islands 🙂
Oh My Yumm 