Creole Chicken is quick and easy

Green pepper, celery and onions are essential ingredients of Creole and Cajun cooking. Add pasta sauce, hot peppers and chicken and you’ve got a quick and easy Creole Chicken.

Helpful Hints:

Buy good quality low-sodium, canned or packaged chopped tomatoes. I find the ones in the shelf-stable cartons have a real tomato flavor.

You can find minced garlic in the produce section of the market.

You can use any type of onion.

Countdown:

Make rice and set aside.

Make chicken.

Shopping List:

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 green bell pepper, 1 bunch celery, 1 can low-sodium pasta sauce, 1 bottle Worcestershire sauce, 1 bottle cayenne pepper, 1 bottle hot pepper sauce, 1 package microwaveable brown rice.

Staples: olive oil, onion, minced garlic, salt and black peppercorns.

Creole Chicken

Recipe by Linda Gsssenheimer. Makes 2 servings.

2 teaspoons olive oil

¾ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup sliced green bell pepper

1 cup sliced celery

2 teaspoon minced garlic

1¼ cups low-sodium pasta sauce*

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Hot pepper sauce

Heat olive oil in a medium-size nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken cubes and brown on all sides, 3 minutes. Remove to a plate, lower heat to medium high. Add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add pasta sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper and return chicken to pan. Stir to combine ingredients. Simmer 3 minutes. A meat thermometer should read 165 degrees. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon chicken and sauce over rice and pass the hot pepper sauce.

Per serving: 380 calories, 12 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 5 g monounsaturated fat, 130 mg cholesterol, 42 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 6 g dietary fiber, 14 g sugars, 260 mg sodium, 1470 mg potassium, 462 mg phosphorus.

Exchanges: 4 vegetable, 6 lean protein.

Microwave Brown Rice

Makes 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 package microwaveable brown rice to make 1½ cups cooked rice

2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook rice according to package instructions. Measure 1½ cups and set aside the remaining rice for another dinner. Add the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the chicken.

Per serving: 200 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 34 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, Exchanges/food choices: 2 starch, 1 fat.

* Look for low-sodium pasta sauce with 130 calories, less than 4 g fat and 80 mg sodium per cup.