Cajun Chicken and Rice

Hubby and I are rescheduling our trip to New Orleans that got cancelled during Hurricane Sandy. We’re both pretty psyched to dive into their cuisine, and realized we’ve been channeling our excitement through the types of dishes we’ve been seeking out. Our travels can’t come soon enough! The two of us recently enjoyed incredible shrimp po’ boys at Docks Oyster Bar in NYC, and last week I made us pan-fried Cajun chicken over jambalaya rice.

This whole dish knocks you out with a one, two punch of seasoning, and goes from stove top to table in only a few simple steps. The protein shows off a mouthwatering golden brown exterior, leading to a juicy center from spicy tomatoes with green chilies. The rice is actually from a packaged mix so you’ll appreciate the ease in its preparation when getting dinner ready on a hectic week night.

Feel free to adjust the heat according to your palate’s preference. Hubby likes his food really spicy so I usually ‘kick it up a notch’ for him, as Louisiana’s Emeril would say. Bam!

Ingredients:

2 large breasts of chicken

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (adjust accordingly)

A few pinches Kosher salt

Black pepper (optional)

1 (10 oz.) can sliced tomatoes and green chilies

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package jambalaya rice

Ingredients:

Prepare rice according to directions.

Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning.

Add olive oil to a pan and sear chicken on both sides. The outside will be golden brown and the center will no longer be pink.

Cut chicken into pieces and return to pan. (Kind of looks like roasted potatoes here, doesn’t it?)

Pour in can of tomatoes with chilies.

Stir together and cook for an additional few minutes until warm.

Serve over rice.

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p style=”text-align:center;”>Eat and enjoy dreaming of New Orleans!