True Love

We are a family that has quite a lot of traditions, all 3 of my kids have them so ingrained into them that if I want to skip one one year it's like the Apocalypse is about to take place. This past Christmas I tried to get away with not putting pillowcases on the ends of their beds... HELLO !!! What was I thinking ?
Along with those traditions comes a lot of opportunities for celebrations and along with celebrations comes a lot of food. I have one kid who is a 'Foodie'. Reagan LOVES a celebration of any kind, she loves to cook, she loves to make up new recipes and she loves to look on the calender in order to find out if it's someones birthday or a special celebration day. Last year when she saw that it was my brother's Birthday despite him living 3,000 miles away we made his favorite Birthday cake, put candles on it and video taped the kids singing Happy Birthday to him. See what I mean ? Any excuse to celebrate and eat.
That all brings me to today.... Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras Day. In the past I've always made crepes for dessert on this day, it's a tradition I was raised with, but then last year Rea's teacher took in King Cake for the kids to try and guess who had to go look for one after the school day ? and guess who came up empty handed ? Yes, that would be me. Guess who has a memory like an elephant and begged today "Mommy, it's Mardi Gras Day today please remember to buy a King Cake ?" Yes that would be Rea. So dutifully I went off after dropping her off at school and bought my first ever King Cake. My first cause for alarm was this

There's a baby inside the cake ? For real ? and since when were babies edible ? I googled the reason behind this, apparently the person with the baby in their bite of cake hosts the next Mardi Gras Party, huh, who knew ?
My second cause for concern was this

Oh gag me now !! This is what my child the 'Foodie' wants to eat tonight, really ?  I'll humor her this year, I'll be more prepared and bake my own next year and I have all the fixings for crepes on hand for those poor souls not brave enough to test out that blob of doughy, covered in frosting (goodness ?) w/ the chance of baby inside.

But before we eat that mess we'll be eating some good old Cajun Jambalaya and in case that sounds good to you and you're wondering "What's For Dinner ?" on this here most Cajun celebrated day of the year I'll share my favorite recipe, might not be how the real Cajuns fix theirs but it works well for this family and leaves a lot of empty plates on the dinner table

INGREDIENTS
-----------------                                       
2 tsp Olive oil                                                                  3/4 tsp salt
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size        1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8oz Kielbasa, diced                                                         2 C uncooked white rice
1 onion, diced                                                                  3 bay leaves
1/2 C celery, diced                                                           4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 green bell pepper, diced                                                2 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 Tbs chopped garlic                                              A healthy helping of your favorite cajun spices (optional)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper                                                     
1/2 tsp onion powder

1. Heat oil in lrg saucepan over med high heat. Saute chicken and kielbasa until lightly brown, about 5 mins. Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Season with cayenne, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cook 3 mins or until onion is tender and translucent.
2. Add rice, stir in chicken broth, bay leaves, worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce (Cajun seasoning if using). Bring to a boil, reduce, heat, cover and simmer 18 mins or until rice is tender. Discard bay leaves before serving.
                                                        Enjoy with some crusty bread !!