by nerissa's ring

 quick second post. Wow! Two posts in one day. I don’t think I’ve ever done that.
So you can understand why this is my healthy version I’ll tell you that I used to make Jambalaya using the Zatarain’s box mixed with low fat Kielbasa sausage. I stopped making it for about six months when we first started our “clean eating” effort, but it was a family favorite so recently I went in search of a new way to make it.

Being a mediocre cook and really busy the last few months I didn’t want to follow a complicated recipe with a lot of ingredients. I had two objectives. 1. Replace our pork sausage with a healthier meat. 2. Replace the Zatarain’s mix with fresh ingredients.

So here it is. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s healthier than our old version and very tasty. I’ve actually made this for friends and had them request the recipe (a term I use loosely because there’s so little involved). It doesn’t taste exactly like traditional jambalaya, but it works for us.

Ingredients:
1 package of organic mild Italian chicken sausage (we get ours at Publix)
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 small onion
1 cup Quinoa (we like Bob’s Red Mill)
2-3 tablespoons of expeller pressed coconut oil

Directions:
On medium heat, melt 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil and drop in the chicken sausage. While that’s cooking, wash and slice green and red peppers and small onion. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup of Quinoa (we use Bob’s Red Mill). Bring it back to boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove Quinoa from heat, fluff with fork and let it sit for a few minutes. Add the veggies to your chicken and sausage and cook for just a few minutes – until desired tenderness. Serve chicken sausage and veggies over quinoa with a little juice from the pan. The flavor of the chicken sausage mixes really well with the veggies and quinoa so you shouldn’t need any other seasonings. But my husband usually adds a little sea salt and pepper to his.

That’s it. Fast and easy and it tastes good! If you make it let me know what you think. If you try a variation please share your recipe. Do you have a traditional favorite like jambalaya you’ve made into a healthier recipe?