Dirty Rice and Dragons

*gigglesnort* that title sounds like a really, really bad movie. It pretty much sums up my evening, though. Made a cross between dirty rice and red beans and rice for dinner tonight and have been working steadily on my cross stitch.

Dinner wasn't as pretty, but I'm pretty sure it tasted better than the cross stitch would have. Kidney beans, rice cooked in chicken broth, smoked sausage, onions, garlic, and spices vs. cotton fabric and thread...Hmmm...

Oh! And the new crochet hook I ordered came today! Such excitement! Yep, that's my life, one thrill after another.

Cajun Rice Dinner

3C. Uncooked rice
6C. Chicken broth
1lb smoked sausage, sliced
2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t paprika
3/4 t salt
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t thyme
Sprinkle cayenne (more it you like it hot)
2 T Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed.

Bring broth to a boil, add rice, cover, and cook 20 minutes, until broth is absorbed and rice is tender.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and sausage, cook until onion is tender and sausage is browned. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add beans and seasonings and stir together.

Stir sausage mixture into the rice. Add more Cajun seasoning as needed.
You may add 2 stalks sliced celery and/or 1 chopped bell pepper to the skillet when you cook the onion if you like, my family doesn't care for them.

Cajun Pasta Alfredo

This work thing takes up way too much of my time!  I've been working on the same afghan for almost a month now and I'm only about 2/3 done!  Granted it's queen sized, but still.  Between now and mid July I have to make a baby blanket for a friend.  Her first grandchild is due in early August...she's my age and her daughter is my son's age...makes me fell soooo old!  Then between now and November, I have this afghan and one for another of my in-laws.  I want it done in time to mail it to Utah and have it there before Christmas.  And when I'm done with this one, I have a cousin who wants one!  Glad I don't have to work in the summer!

I had some of those mini smoked sausages and wanted to make something for dinner with them.  I could really only find recipes for snacks and such, sooo...I got creative.

Cajun Pasta Alfredo

16 oz. rotini pasta
15 oz jar Alfredo sauce (this makes it a little dry, so if you like it saucy, use 2)
1 T. Cajun seasoning (I like Tony Chachere's) (use more if you like a lot of spice)
1 package mini smoked sausages cut into 4 pieces (or sliced and quartered regular sized)
dry bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.
Stir in sauce, sausage, and seasoning.  Mix well.
Spoon pasta into a 9 x 13" baking pan, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

 

 

Made this again tonight (5/10) but this time I used 2 jars of sauce...we like it saucy and last time was a little dry for our tastes.  Also, there was some pork and chicken Italian sausage on sale that I used instead of smoked sausage and it was AMAZING!!  The chicken in it, kept the sausage from being greasy and the spice in it (it was mild, but still had TONS of flavor!) meant I only needed a little Cajun seasoning.  VERY GOOD!!!