Every Sunday, I make my breakfasts and lunches for the work week, so I don’t have to worry about whether our work cafeteria is going to have something I can eat other than the boring-ass salad bar. I decided this week that I was in the mood for something Cajun. I considered gumbo, but it’s finally hitting actual summer weather here, so I didn’t want soup. And try as I might, I haven’t figured out a good way to make a keto etouffee, so jambalaya was the compromise. And as it turns out, it was a very tasty compromise indeed.
Start by chopping a half pound of chicken breasts (this was one large breast for me) and slicing four pre-cooked pork andouille sausages. I used the Aidell’s brand. While you are chopping and slicing, heat up 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. If you don’t have a stainless steel skillet, check your local restaurant supply store. You can get one for relatively cheap and it’s going to be chef quality. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste. Cook the chicken and sausage in the oil until the sausage browns and the chicken just begins to turn golden. The picture below is what you’ll want it to look like.
While you’re cooking the chicken and sausage, chop half a large onion, a green pepper, and two large stalks of celery. When the chicken and sausage are done, put them aside in a bowl, using a slotted spoon so most of the fat drains back into the skillet. Add the vegetables to the skillet. If you want, you can add garlic here, but I’ve got a nice hack that gives you the garlic flavor without having to chop anything else. After about three or four minutes, add a tablespoon or more of Cajun seasoning to the veggies and turn to coat and toast the spices a bit. Make sure your seasoning blend is sugar-free! Some of them contain added sugar. You’ll want it to contain salt, though. If it doesn’t, add about a teaspoon of salt.
The veggies and Cajun seasoning.
When the onions just begin turning translucent, like in the picture above, add the chicken and sausage back into the pan along with a can of diced tomatoes. Bring it to a simmer, and while it simmers, here’s my garlic hack. Instead of making my own cauliflower rice, which messes up a food processor and gets cauliflower dust all over my kitchen, I used two bags of Birds Eye Steamfresh brand roasted garlic flavored riced cauliflower. You can get these in the frozen section of your grocery store. Heat these up in the microwave while the skillet contents simmer and some of the liquid cooks off. You can of course use your own cauliflower rice, but you’ll want to cook it for longer once it’s in there, and you’ll need to make sure that you either add minced garlic in with the vegetables or garlic powder to the spices.
When the liquid from the tomatoes cooks down a bit, it’ll be time to add the cauliflower rice. Conveniently, this takes about as long as it takes to heat up two bags of cauliflower rice, one after the other. Add the rice in, stir it to combine evenly, and continue to simmer for about five minutes. At this point, add hot sauce to taste as well as any additional salt and pepper needed. I used Frank’s Red Hot because that’s what I had, but Tabasco is probably the most authentic. This makes five good-sized servings, perfect for a work week lunch.
Chop chicken into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice the sausage into thin coins.
In a large stainless steel skillet, heat up the avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sausage and cook, turning once, until both sides of the sausage are browned and the chicken just starts to turn golden. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the skillet.
While the chicken and sausage cook, chop the onion, green pepper, and celery. When the chicken and sausage are removed, add the vegetables and optional garlic (see notes above). Saute for about 3-4 minutes, then add the Cajun seasoning, tossing to coat. Saute for 1-2 minutes more, until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
As the tomatoes simmer and reduce, heat up both bags of riced cauliflower in the microwave. This should take about ten minutes. Add the cauliflower and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add hot sauce and salt and pepper as needed. Simmer for 5 more minutes and serve.
Macros, using Aidell's sausage: 313 calories, 8 grams net carbs, 25 grams protein, 18 grams fat.
Keyword Cajun, chicken, keto, low carb, main dish, make ahead, sausage, spicy
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OMG, y’all. I started this whole thing on a complete whim because I was craving Mexican food hardcore. And yes, I know that 99% of my recipes start that way, but I seriously was not expecting it to be one of the best things I’ve ever made. There are some things I’ll try slightly differently next time, and if I like them, I’ll tweak the recipe a little. But holy crap, these are good. If you love cheese enchiladas, you won’t miss the tortillas at all.
Won’t miss the tortillas? Then what is that in the picture? Guys, it’s just deli chicken. Turkey would probably work too, but I wanted the flavor and texture of chicken. Get it fairly thickly-sliced, because too thin and it’ll fall apart. You’ll need 10 thick slices for this. You may want to get a few extra just in case they fall apart. It was probably around a pound and a quarter or so.
First, start with the sauce. If you’re busy or just feeling lazy, get one of those 8 ounce bags of Frontera red enchilada sauce. They’re good, fairly low in carbs, and nobody will judge. But if you want to do something different, make your own. It’s actually much easier than I though it would be, to be honest.
Put 4 dried guajillo chiles and 8 dried chiles de arbol in a saucepan and cover with 3 cups of chicken broth. Use one of those 4 cup boxes of chicken broth, because you’ll likely need a bit more of it later. Bring to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, turning the peppers every five minutes or so, until they’re nice and soft.
When the chiles are soft, remove them from the pot, take off the stems, and toss them into a food processor. Pour the hot broth into a 2-cup measuring cup. If you have two cups, great. If not, add more chicken broth until it hits the 2-cup line, then put it into the food processor too. Next time, I’ll wait until my garlic is cooked and put it in there too. I just forgot this time. Whiz it up until it’s as smooth as you can get it. Chunks and seeds are unavoidable.
In the same saucepan, heat up 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and toast about a tablespoon and a half of minced garlic until it begins to turn golden. Put a fine mesh colander on top of the saucepan and pour the contents of the food processor into it, pressing down on the top with a wooden spoon to make sure all the liquid gets out. Discard the remaining pepper skins and seeds. Add a tablespoon and a half of apple cider vinegar and a half-teaspoon of salt. Continue to simmer and reduce for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, then sprinkle a half teaspoon of xanthan gum over the top of the sauce, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, whisking until it’s incorporated. If it’s thick enough after the first 1/4 teaspoon, you can stop here, but if you like it thicker, you can add another one.
Pour half of the sauce into a 9×13 baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine 8 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar with 8 ounces of a good Mexican melting cheese (I used Chihuahua, but queso blanco or Monterey would also work). Put out your slices of chicken, put about 1/4 cup or so of the cheese into the middle of the slice, and roll it up. Place it seam side down in the sauce. Repeat this until all of the rolls are in the pan, then pour over the remaining sauce, sprinkle with any leftover cheese, and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. You may need to put the last two underneath the top 8, as pictured here.
I made this as a make-ahead meal for my lunches this week, so I waited until they were room temperature before I removed them from the pan. I’m not sure how they’d hold up if you were taking them right out for dinner, so if you try this, let me know! In the meantime, I’ll keep trying to figure out a good substitute for refried beans.
10slicesdeli chicken or turkey breastsliced thickly
8ouncesshredded Mexican cheeseChihuahua, queso blanco, or Monterey
8ouncesshredded sharp white cheddar cheese
Instructions
For the Enchilada Sauce
Place dried chiles into a saucepan and pour 3 cups of chicken stock over it. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, turning the peppers every 5 minuts, until the peppers are soft. Remove them, pull off the stems, then place the softened peppers into a food processor.
Pour the remaining chicken broth into a 2 cup measuring cup. If it doesn't make it to the 2 cup line, add enough to get it there. Put the 2 cups of broth into the food processor, and process until as smooth as possible.
While the chiles are processing, heat up the avocado oil and saute the garlic in it until it begins to turn golden brown, about 1 minute. Place a fine mesh colander over the saucepan and pour the contents of the food processor into it, pressing down on the chunky stuff until most of the liquid is in the pot. Discard the remaining pepper skins and seeds.
Add the apple cider vinegar and salt to the pot and continue to simmer until it's reduced slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the top of it and whisk until smooth and thickened. You should end up with a cup of sauce total. Turn it off and pour it into the measuring cup you used for the broth.
For the Enchiladas
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Pour half of the sauce into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Mix the shredded cheeses together in a mixing bowl. Put about 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture into the center of a chicken slice and carefully roll it. Place each roll seam side down into the sauce. Repeat until all of the slices are filled. Pour the remaining sauce over the rolls, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Macros for 2 enchiladas: 515 calories, 1 gram of net carbs, 50 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat.
Keyword cheese, chicken, keto, low carb, main dish, make ahead, Mexican
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