Zatarain's No More

I love Cajun cooking. Gumbo, Jambalaya, Dirty Rice and Red Beans and Rice have had a place in our household for many a year. Now, it's true that most of the time, expediency caused us to start with a box of Zatarain's and spruce it up with different or multiple meat choices, cheese toppings or some other modification. But hey, the basic Cajun flavor was there and that's what I wanted.

I had assumed that those days were over. I knew that the temptation would be strong, so I try to not even go down that aisle in the grocery store anymore. After having recently lamented just that fact, my sweetie was browsing the most recent copy of Cooking Light and came upon a recipe for Cajun Red Beans and Rice. Wow, was I excited.

A perusal of the ingredients and the nutritional information immediately gave me hope that my Cajun desires would soon be sated. Chicken andouille sausage, salt free Cajun spice mix and no/low sodium canned beans and tomatoes made for a recipe that was 75% LESS than an equal serving of a boxed product.

The recipe is copied below and the slight change I made is in parenthesis. This meal gets a huge thumbs-up from me.

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Pre-chopped vegetables and canned beans keep this version of red beans and rice simple yet satisfying. Because this recipe begins with oil-sautéed aromatics, it contains more grams of fat per serving than its boxed counterpart—but the calories and sodium are significantly lower, and the taste is terrific.

Yield

5 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup bean mixture and about 3/4 cup rice)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 (3-ounce) chicken andouille sausage links, chopped
• 1 (8-ounce) container prechopped onion, bell pepper, and celery mix
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt-free Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's)
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (we mixed half and half salt and salt substitute)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can red beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion mix to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Add Cajun seasoning, salt, oregano, and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Partially mash beans with a fork. Add beans, 1/4 cup water, and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in pepper. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 336

Fat: 8.4g (sat 1.8g,mono 5.1g,poly 1.3g)

Protein: 12.7g

Carbohydrate: 51.6g

Fiber: 5.9g

Cholesterol: 36mg

Iron: 3.3mg

Sodium: 698mg

Calcium: 90mg