While this Jambalaya really hits the spot during football season on a nice cool fall or winter evening, we've had SOOOO MUCH rain recently, that I decided to make a big pot of it last week on a stormy, rainy night! I've visited N'Awlins several times over the years, and not to brag or anything, but this is definitely as good as what I've had there! ;o)
Cajun Jambalaya (I don't suppose there is any other kind!)
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts chopped into @ 1" pieces
12 oz package smoked sausage, sliced into small pieces
3-4 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
3 stalks of celery chopped
2 Tbs of chopped garlic (I cheat and use the jar kind)
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
6 bay leaves
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce
2 cups of long grain white rice
6 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp - give or take -Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning (this is a must - if you skimp on the creole seasoning it won't taste "right"!!)
Heat a couple of Tbs of olive oil in fairly large pot over med high heat. Sprinkle chicken pieces with Tony's creole seasoning. Then brown chicken in olive oil just until browned on both sides. Remove chicken to plate, add a little more olive oil to pot if needed, and saute' onion, pepper and celery until soft probably about 5 minutes. Add can of petite diced tomatoes, chopped garlic, bay leaves, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. Stir in rice and then slowly add and stir in the chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium or medium low and let cook until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed - probably about 20 minutes. Then add browned chicken, sausage and some creole seasoning. Turn down to low and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and remaining liquid is absorbed (the pic above was right after I added the chicken and sausage so the rest of the liquid cooked out before I served it). My problem is that I don't know how much creole seasoning to tell you to add because I never measure it! I would say start out with a teaspoon and go from there depending on how much of a kick you want. You may not need salt at all with the broth and creole seasoning, but add kosher salt to taste only if needed.
Serve up in a bowl and top with additional hot sauce if desired and some good crusty french or italian bread! My absolute favorite bread is the Tuscan Pane from Trader Joe's. A side of cole slaw is also really good with this!
This should serve about 6 people; if my husband is one of them, then maybe only 4! LOL!
Enjoy!
a ;o)
Had a nice brunch of eggs benedict and hashbrowns out on the screen porch today with the hubs while watching Wimbledon, and just wanted to give a big shout out to Andy Murray...so happy for him!!! Very exciting! Really enjoyed watching!! I'm sure there was lots of partying in Scotland and in London last night!
So, nothing healthy about this meal since the hollandaise sauce has a half stick of butter in it, but it sure was yummy!! And, I suppose I can't claim to be a real chef since I used Knorr's hollandaise sauce packet, but what I can I say?! I like it!! Atleast I got some protein and vitamin C, and did I mention I used whole wheat english muffins? Will the oranges and the orange juice counteract the cholesterol from the butter and eggs?? Oh well, it's a holiday weekend! I'll try and be good today!
Cheers!!
a ;o)
So, the hubby and I were at Disney Village a couple of years ago in January, walking around waiting on our table at Rainforest Cafe, and we stumbled upon this tropical drink stand. It was way past happy hour, so we got in line and began to peruse the menu of tropical concoctions. I ordered the most delicious rum punch EVER...WOW was it yummy and it definitely packed a punch...pun intended!!! ;o)
Summer rolled around and I started thinking about that drink. While I remembered that it had light and dark rum, and creme de banana, I couldn't remember what else was in it, nor could I remember the name of the drink establishment...so I never got around to making the most fabulous concoction. Fast forward to last month...
We were hanging out with the family on the coast of South Carolina for the week, and started thinking about that drink again. I decided to google "rum punch at Disney Village" and low and behold, someone else was in search of the recipe and had taken a picture of the sign at Disney Village showing the ingredients! I hit the liquor store, played around with the measurements a bit until it was down to a most delicious science, and below is what I came up with.
I also found these napkins in a cute shop in Pawley's Island, and mixed them in with my patriotic napkins for our 4th of July party! Cracked everybody up!
Pitcher of Rum Punch
1 cup of Light Rum
1/4 cup of Creme de Banana
1/4 cup of Blackberry Brandy
1-2 Tbs Grenadine
1-1/4 Cup of Orange Juice
3/4 cup of Pineapple Juice (6oz can of Dole)
Meyers Rum
Mix everything together in a pitcher except for the Meyers Rum. Pour mixture over ice, top off with a Meyers Rum floater, put a little Jimmy Buffet or Bob Marley on the stereo, and ENJOY!!
a ;o)
So, we drove up to Washington DC to spend an extended Memorial Day weekend and stopped off at some Civil War battlefields on the way there and back. DC was an incredible place to remember those who fought for our freedoms!!! Really fabulous!!
HOWEVER, I didn't eat so well. Well, actually I ate REALLY WELL, I just didn't eat things that were good for me!! I had a filet mignon one night at District Chop House with a good salad (and mashed potatoes), we ate at Fogo De Chao one night...need I say more about that? If you've never been to a Brazilian Steakhouse, it's all about the meat!!! They give you a coaster that is green on one side and red on the other. As long as the green side is up, they come around and continually bring you various meats of your choice. When you want to take a break, you flip your coaster to red, and they stop coming until you can "catch up". It is quite an experience and delicious food! Incredible salad bar as well...did the health value of the salad cancel out all the beef I ate??!! LOL! We ate Mexican one day at lunch and had the best table side Guacamole I think I've ever had at a place called Oyamel...we were lucky to get a table there, because no matter what time of day or night you walk by there, it's packed to the gills! Another day I ate lamb chops at a tapas restaurant called La Tosca which was also delish!! In addition, I had a couple of burgers, and a steak sandwich at a cute place called Weezie's in Richmond, VA. On the way home we stopped in Fredericksburg and had a grass fed burger at a cute little organic lunch spot. BEST BURGER hands down that I've ever had!! What a difference grass fed beef makes, apparently!!! I can only hope that the miles upon miles of walking we did EVERY DAY while in DC helped cancel out all the cholesterol filled meals I had!!! ;o)
At any rate, I got home and woke up a couple of days later sick, so I really haven't done the best job of meal planning and grocery shopping, so nothing too exciting to post lately!!
This weekend, I made this yummy, healthy taco salad!!
I started out with a bed of chopped organic romaine lettuce. Sliced half an avocado and placed around the edges of the bowl. Topped the lettuce with a mixture of seasoned black beans and white shoepeg corn. Chopped up a couple of campari tomatoes and placed around the edges, sprinkled a little lime juice and coursely ground pepper and kosher salt on the avocados and tomato and topped all with some good mexican cheese! SO YUMMY! I did put some spicy taco meat on the hubby's salad, but mine was delish with just the veggies!! It didn't even need dressing with all the flavors from the various veggies!
Buen Provecho!
The hubby was playing in a golf tournament on Saturday, so I decided to give some meatless breakfast burritos a whirl. I wasn't real excited about this, because I was convinced that the hot ground sausage we normally put in them is what makes them good but nevertheless, I plowed forward. OMG...they were actually BETTER this way!!! I swear it!!!!! YUM!! The rotel gave them a nice spicy kick which I think took the place of the spice from the sausage...and who knew avocados could be so good with eggs?!?!
For just me, I used the following:
-2 Small flour tortillas (70 calories each)
-2 Scrambled eggs
-1/2 Avocado
-1/4 cup Rotel
- 2 or 3 TBS Mexican cheese (LOVE the Sargento off the block 4 Cheese mexican)
Soooo good...and easy too!!!!!
a ;o)
I was headed to Amelia Island, Florida a couple of weeks ago for an awesome girls trip and we stopped at a Houlihan's in Savannah, GA for lunch on the way down there. They had a Tuscan salad on the menu that was to die for!! I made a version of it for lunch today, and while it may not have been quite as good, it was pretty darn close, and healthy...I feel my cholesterol dropping as we speak! ;o)) I'm not sure I can technically call it a Tuscan bean salad since I used the left over chick peas from yesterday instead of white beans, but we'll pretend!
- 3/4 - 1 cup of spinach and mixed greens
-1/2 cup chickpeas (or Cannellini beans)
-1/2 cup fresh diced tomatoes
-1 or 2 TBS crumbled feta or goat cheese
Dressing:
-1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar, salt, and fresh basil
Layer the greens, peas, tomatoes and cheese. Mix up the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over salad and top with a healthy dose of cracked black pepper!
Bon Appetit!
a ;o)
I should have walked away before I published my first post and thought about it for awhile...I can't believe the first post I made was for such a lackluster, boring, and what many will actually think a disgusting lunch!! What a way to start a new blog??!! DUH!! I really just wanted to start keeping track of what I eat so I can make sure I'm really getting some "good stuff" in my diet. This way when I cook a cheesy, yummy Italian pasta I can look back and see how good I was at lunch every day!
...a ;o)
