Brown Rice Jamabalaya with Shrimp and Chicken Andouille. Click on the photo to enlarge.
We had been craving making a Jambalaya over the last few months, lamenting not being able to return to our favorite city and its wonderful local cuisine due to our healthier lifestyle. So over the last few days we decided to make an updated version with brown rice, Chicken Andouille (Purchased from COSTCO) and jumbo shrimp, with a higher vegetable and protein to carb ratio than a typical Jambalaya. The results are in the photo above. It was crazy good.
It seems inappropriate to me to sit home and make a staple New Orleans dish in a time of such worry. But we have to remember that no matter what, the people of that city are survivors, and they know how to have a good time. And they are our friends.
Tonight, Rachel and I stand in solidarity with our friends in Louisiana and the Gulf states, hoping that Gustav, while now a weakened Category 3 storm, will pass through with minimal damage and minimal loss of life. And we stand with them, prepared for whatever may come.
Off The Broiler 
Thanks Jason. Hope you guys are doing well. My family and I are in Baton Rouge, hoping for a quick return so we can get back to rebuilding.
Be good.
Stay safe, Robert.
Jason wanted me to post a recipe for the lower carb & fat jambalaya:
1 tsp olive oil
10 oz diced celery
10 oz diced onion
6 oz diced red bell pepper*
1 hot chili pepper, deseeded
2 gloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs Joe’s Stuff (Lousiana spice blend, any brand of jambalaya or gumbo type seasoning will do)
9 oz cooked brown rice**
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 links low-fat Chicken Andouille, sliced
12 oz large peeled & deveined shrimp
Heat up a large non-stick skillet, add oil and all the vegetables. Saute for about 10 minutes until wilted. Add seasonings, rice and stock, stir to combine, but lid on and allow to simmer/steam for 5 minutes. The rice will absorb most of the liquid, but it’s OK if it doesn’t.
Remove rice & veggies to a large bowl. Brown sausage slices for a minute or two, add shrimp and sear the outside for 1 minute (not fully cooked). Stir back in rice & veggies, put the lid back on and cook over low flame for five minutes.
You can also add some additional leftover meat, for example, I had about 2 oz of pulled chicken leftover that I threw in too. Top with green onions and/or parsley and serve.
* Green bell pepper is more traditional, but we prefer red, so I didn’t have any green in the house. It also has more Vitamin C than an orange!
** Real jambalaya starts with raw rice, I used leftover brown and wild rice mixture. Takes less time, I think of this method as LA fried rice! That is, something good to do with leftover rice.
Thank you for your post and for your thoughts our way.
Curious what folks think about that video about Katrina that’s been big on YouTube the past few days?
I recall occasionally rolling my eyes at all of the “Why don’t people move out of New Orleans” garbage talk ignorant people ramble on with, and in my opinion this video highlights the actual problem/risks pretty well. How many people actually understand the role of the diminishing wetlands, for example, on what happened? Probably not many.
Thanks, belatedly, for thinking of us, Jason.
looks like a good recipe..I will try it out thanks