Chicken and Okra Creole

This Cajun-inspired dish makes a great one-dish meal. It's packed with tons of flavor, fast to make, and even faster to clean up with only one skillet required.

This Heart-Smart, Diabetic-Friendly recipe was created by Nancy Hughes, cookbook author, Mobile Alabama.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 tablespoons light olive oil
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup diced onions
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed okra, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or green onion
2 teaspoons Louisiana hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked brown rice

Cooking Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon light olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 3 minutes or until slightly pink in center, stirring occasionally. Set aside on separate plate.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon light olive oil and cook onions and peppers for 4 minutes or until vegetables begin to lightly brown on edges. Stir in garlic and cook 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in okra, tomatoes, thyme, and chicken. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in parsley, hot sauce and salt. Cover and let stand 5 minutes to absorb flavors.
4. Meanwhile, prepare rice according to package directions. Serve the chicken mixture over rice.

Makes 4 servings; 1 1/4 cups chicken mixture and 1/2 cup cooked rice per serving.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): Calories 340; Total Fat 10g; Saturated Fat 1.5g; Cholesterol 45mg; Sodium 420mg; Carbohydrates 39g; Fiber 6g; Sugar 8g; Protein 23g.