Chicken Jambalaya

I didn’t think I’d be able to post my first meal until next week because of my schedule, but then I ran across a recipe in my Fitness magazine that looked easy and I could make in the crock pot! The prep work was very easy, since most of the ingredients came already made. The only problem I ran into was caused by my defiance of reading directions carefully. For some reason I was certain that I had to take the casing off the sausage, but this turned into a tedious (and kinda gross) job. After a couple of tries, I gave up and cut it up casing and all. I also ran into a glitch with the jambalaya rice mix. The recipe says to put only the seasoning packet in at first, then add the rice 45 minutes before serving. When I opened the box, I realized that the rice and seasoning was all mixed together in one big packet! It didn't seem to matter much.

REVIEW: I liked the zesty flavors of the dish. I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods, but I thought this had just enough kick without overpowering the other flavors. The chicken was soooo tender! I had to drain out quite a bit of liquid before eating, so either I didn't let the rice absorb enough or maybe two cups of water is too much. I took some of it for lunch the next day and it tasted great as a leftover. Success!

RECIPE:

"Chicken Jambalaya"
8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, diced
16 oz package frozen bell peppers and onions
8 oz smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inc slices
2 cups water
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/ jalapeno peppers, undrained
8 oz package jambalaya rice mix

Place the ingredients in the crockpot in the following order: frozen veggies, chicken, sausage, water, tomatoes, seasoning packet from rice mix. Cover and cook 5-6 hours (even longer is ok too) on low heat or 2.5-3 hours on high heat. 45 minutes prior to serving, mix in rice and cook on high heat. Makes 6 servings. (per serving: 256 cals, 4g fat, 19g protein, 37g carbs)