It's Mardi Gras Y'all

Growing up we moved around a lot. My mama grew up on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi off and on as child. We always went back just about every summer up until my mid-twenties. The food from down there was always something I looked forward to. My nanny and pawpaw would take us to get the best po-boys in the world and make us our favorite dishes like, jambalaya and gumbo. However my grandfather was never one to write down a recipe but after all those years of watching him, I came up with my own (recipe will follow later on).

Jambalaya

We grew up hearing about Mardi Gras from my mom and my cousins but we never experienced it ourselves until we moved to Louisiana. Now when I first moved there I literally thought it was the end of my world. I was determined I wasn't going to like it and fought against liking it for about as long as we lived there. I will concede that there definitely were perks, like the food, but also it was the first time we got to experience Mardi Gras. We loved going to the parade and seeing all of the houses decorated for the season.

For those who don't know what it is, it is a big celebration that follows the season of Epiphany but comes before the season of Lent. The big day is often called Fat Tuesday. The day that follows Mardi Gras, is Ash Wednesday, and this starts lent. There are also three colors associated with Mardi Gras, green {represents faith}, purple {represents justice}, and gold {represents power}. The day is filled with parades,{yes they throw beads}, music and food. One of the dishes that is a must is a King Cake. It is decorated with all three colors and filled with cheese, and other fillings like apple or strawberry. Inside each cake is a baby that is hidden. Now there are many different opinions surrounding the baby, some believe it is good luck for whoever gets it, others that the person will be pregnant soon but according to NOLA.com , who ever gets the baby must provide the King Cake next year.

King Cake

So after we left Louisiana we didn't really do anything during Mardi Gras, but when my sister and I lived together in Charlotte, we started to celebrate it again. We both loved having friends, who became like family, over to eat jambalaya and enjoy King Cake. We both still like to have celebrate by hosting a dinner, when we can each year with friends. Katie has added to her menu and she makes gumbo, but I just stick to jambalaya. So as promised here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

6-8 Slices of bacon, fried and then crumbled. Leave about a tablespoon of the bacon grease for use later.

1/2 of a large onion or 1 small sweet onion, chopped.

1 bell pepper (green or you can do 1/2 green and 1/2 yellow bell pepper for color) (diced)

2 cloves crushed or minced garlic (I use a garlic press)

12 oz of sausage (this can been andouille, beef sausage or kielbasa, I used kielbasa rather than andouille because it is hard for me to find it without chicken {family allergy} ) Sliced and halved.

1/2-1 lb Shrimp (depends on size and preference)

2- 14oz. cans of diced tomatoes ( I like to use the kind that has garlic and oregano in with the tomatoes)

Season Salt and Season Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (plus some to taste later)

1 teaspoon Zatarain's Creole Seasoning (plus some to taste later)

2 cups uncooked rice (makes 4 cups cooked)

Steps:

1.Begin by cooking the rice in a separate pot (quick reference 2 cups of water to 1 cup of uncooked rice)

2. In a big skillet begin by cooking your bacon. Once it is finished place on a napkin to cook off and pour out the grease, leaving about a tablespoon in the skillet.

3. Add to the grease in the skillet your peppers and onions and cook until they begin to soften. Season with season salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant.

5. Add in your sausage to the peppers and add your Tony Chachere seasoning.

6. When the sausage begins to soften add your shrimp and Zatarain's seasoning, and once the shrimp begins to curl and is almost cooked through add your cans of tomatoes.

7. Once all ingredients are cooked through and combined, add your cooked rice and bacon pieces. Stir and combine all ingredients until complete incorporated. You can do a taste test here and if it isn't meeting your spice and heat factor you can add more of the creole seasoning or you can add some tabasco to taste.

You can serve this right away or let it stay warm in a crockpot or in the pot on top of the stove. I found that the longer the dish sets the more the flavors merge together. So it really is up to you.

*****Also if it is starting to look a little dry to you, you can add a small can or two of V-8 juice to it to help keep it from being too dry.

We decided to celebrate Mardi Gras early this year because Tuesday's are usually pretty crazy for the Luck household. So we did our Mardi Gras Sunday night. We also serve french bread with the jambalaya and of course after our dinner we had our King Cake and Abbie found the baby! Happy Mardi Gras!!! I hope you'll trying the recipe, whether you make it this week or anytime during the year!