Vegetarian Jumbalaya

This recipe came to me by way of pinterest, the new, cool way to find recipes! I changed up only a few ingredients to make this a pre-diabetic friendly recipe for my mom. The original comes from this blogger here. I think the recipe was good for my mom because she does not like spicy food. If I were making this for my husband, I would up the chili powder to make it spicier. The picture you are seeing is my mom's beautiful handiwork. She made this recipe all on her own (and for any new cooks out there, that's telling you that you could do it, too!)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4-5 okra stalks, cleaned and chopped OR one cup frozen okra
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup peas
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (might I recommend Full Circle Organic Vegetable broth - it is more expensive than regular broth, but it has significantly less sodium than other vegetable broths - 570 mg for 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (up this if you like spicy!)
• 1 bay leaf
• Parsley, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet. Add onion, pepper, carrot, celery, garlic, and fresh okra and cook for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients in a large casserole dish. Cover and cook for about 45 -60 minutes, or until all rice is cooked and broth is absorbed.