Chicken Jambalaya

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 14 ½ ounce can of chopped tomatoes

1 ½ cups chicken broth

2/3 cup long grain rice

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 to ½ bottled hot pepper sauce, or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken

1. In a large skillet cook celery, onion and sweet pepper in oil till vegetables are tender but not brown.

2. Stir in undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, uncooked rice, basil, garlic powder, pepper, hot pepper sauce, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or till rice is tender. Stir in chicken or turkey; heat through. Discard bay leaf. Makes 4 servings.

354 calories, 12 grams total fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 68 mg chol., 610 sodium, 32 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 27 grams protein. 15% vitamin A, 37% vitamin C, 22% iron.

The sodium is high in this, but I imagine they assume you are using salted canned tomatoes and salted chicken broth.

I often buy the 10-pound cryovac bags of chicken legs and thighs and divide it up for later use.

I boil some of the chicken, remove the skin, debone it, and freeze that in 2-cup amounts for this recipe and others. I also save the broth and freeze it in freezer bags, because it’s so much better than the canned stuff, and I know it isn’t salted.

This came from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, one of the last two revisions; they've added lots of low-fat recipes in recent years. We’ve eaten it fairly often whether we’re dieting or not, because it’s so good!

I’m sure a true Cajun would laugh at the recipe, but since I’ve never tasted real jambalaya, I don’t know the difference.