Mardi Gras!

 

Happy Fat Tuesday!   To celebrate, I knew I wanted to make something Cajun-inspired for dinner tonight.  At first I thought I wanted gumbo, but after some online research yesterday and consulting with my co-workers, I decided jambalaya was more up my alley.  I wasn’t sure the difference between gumbo and jambalaya, but I think it basically boils down to this:

Gumbo: thickened with a roux and okra, takes a long to make (including a tricky roux); contains shrimp, chicken, and/or sausage; a soup/stew consistency

Jambalaya: a mixture of shrimp, chicken, and/or sausage (or even duck), tomatoes; a thicker dish served over rice

Both contain cajun spices and the “holy trinity” of onions, celery, and green peppers.

I ended up using this Robin Miller recipe for the Crock Pot since I had yoga class tonight and wanted it to be ready when I got home.  After work I threw all the ingredients in the crock pot; I made a few changes based on what I have on hand so mine contained sausage, shrimp, green peppers, onion, celery, tomatoes and cajun spices.  I served it over some Trader Joe’s Wild Rice Medley.

We loved it!  I’m quite sure it wouldn’t count as jambalaya by the purist’s standards, as it was pretty soupy.  Also, traditionally it would have been served over white rice, but we eat whole grains up in here.

 

I have decided to give up sweets for Lent this year, which I guess is ironic since this blog is called Life is So Sweet…but I’m certain that life will still be sweet even if the next 40 days lack chocolate, cookies, and ice cream 🙂  I have a pretty serious sweet tooth, so I will be blogging how it goes.  For the past few years, I have given up a bad habit for Lent, like gossiping or complaining, but I feel like this year I really need to get “back to basics” with something that will be on my mind more. 

I’m off for a last hurrah with some Ben & Jerry’s…happy Mardi Gras!