Jambalaya has something for everyone

Jambalaya is perhaps the ultimate potluck entrée.

There’s something for everyone in there; roasted chicken, lean sausage or shrimp. It may take 2 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 ham, kept the chicken and sausage and made the shrimp optional. Not that there’s anything wrong with shrimp; I just assumed some would want to add it while others preferred to leave it out.

I used reduced-fat sausage (there are quite a few options out there) and cut the amount suggested in the original recipe. My last change was to use higher fiber and higher nutrient brown rice instead of white.

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

Tammy’s Terrific Jambalaya

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.

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 polska kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch thick 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 tablespoons parsley flakes

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 1/2 cups brown rice (uncooked)

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, if using. Cover and let sit to blend flavors for 15 minutes and serve.

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

Yield: 16 cups (not including shrimp)

Approximate nutrition per cup of jambalaya (not including shrimp): 241 calories, 4.8 grams fat (1.2 grams saturated, 18 percent fat calories) 20.3 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrate, 49 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 328 milligrams sodium.

Weight Watchers POINTS = 4