Chicken and Ham Jambalaya

There’s no doubt that your family will run to the kitchen when they smell this traditional Louisiana favorite cooking on the stove – it’s that good!

Ingredients

6 Servings

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (all visible fat discarded, cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, about one cup, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 stalk celery, about 1 cup, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large green bell pepper, about one cup, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 clove garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white or brown rice
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

1. In a deep heavy pot add 1/2 inch of water and add the diced ham.
2. Cook over medium heat until the water boils away. In a 4-6 quart pot, this will take about 7-10 minutes.
3. Continue cooking until the ham is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the ham and set aside.
4. Pour off and discard any fat.
5. Add the olive oil to the same unwashed pot and raise heat to medium-high.
6. Season the chicken with the pepper and brown in the heavy pot with the olive oil for about 5 minutes, remove from the pot and set aside.
7. Add the onion, celery and bell pepper to the pot and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
8. Add the garlic, ham and chicken, uncooked rice, chicken broth and thyme to the onion, celery and bell pepper mixture and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the water evaporates and the rice is cooked, about 15 minutes for white rice and 25 for brown rice. Serve in bowls.

Cooking Tip: This dish will keep developing its flavors and will taste even better the next day.

Keep it Healthy: You can use leftover lean pork, instead of the ham, but cook it very quickly, to keep it from getting dry.

Tip: Serve this with a simple green salad on the side.

Source: American Heart Association