Creole Recipes

So my good friend Amanda printed off some Creole recipes for me. Not sure where she got them from. Also, after making them, I think they are more the Louisiana type Creole than Haitian Creole. But that's okay, the goal here is to normalize rice-containing dishes for our children. When we ate the first dish, we even taught them to say "I love rice" in Creole. Mwen renmen diri (or it might just be m'renmen diri--we are still not that clear on Haitian grammar). They are totally lying when they say it, but that's okay. I think there's a verse about speaking about the things that are not as if they were. So that's what we're doing here.

So there are two spice mixes, one is a dry mix and one is a liquid. Both of them make more than you will need for these two recipes, but you could probably use them for other things if you are creative. The dry mix I put in a sweet Tupperware spice container, obtained through my awesome Tupperware lady, Becky Coffin. The liquid one I put in a clean empty pickle jar, and told Steve "these are not pickles gone bad, please do not dump this." Then two recipes follow.

Creole Seasoning
2 1/2 tbsp sweet or Spanish paprika (I just used what I already had)
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp granulated garlic (I used garlic powder)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (I only used half this much because I don't like heat)
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tbsp chili powder

Blend in food processor or spice grinder. Store in sealed container.

Since I made a couple of substitutions, this may taste better if you follow it to the letter. But I already had regular paprika and garlic powder, so I figured saving the money was worth it. I think I was right. And since I used already powdered spices, I didn't have to use a spice grinder, which was a plus since I do not own one. Also even with only using 1 1/2 tsp cayenne, it was still just a touch more spicy than I liked. But I will keep using it because now it's made...

Creole Herbs & Spice
9 tbsp steak sauce (I used A-1)
6 tbsp worcestershire sauce
6 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne (again I only used 1/2 the amount)

Place in jar, mixing well. Store in refrigerator.

So this recipe is what tipped me off to this being more Louisiana type Creole, since I don't think they have steak sauce or worcestershire sauce in Haiti. At least not in wide use. This smelled good, but mostly like the A-1.

Red Beans and Rice
1 lb smoked sausage
1 lg onion, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
2 cans red beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp creole seasoning
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp herbs and spice
2 1/2 cups instant rice (I used instant brown rice {which actually is healthier even though it's still instant} and decreased the amount to 2 cups since it usually needs more liquid than white)
3 cups chicken broth (I used my own homemade broth as outlined in a previous post--woot--tasty and cheaper and no MSG and stuff like that)

Place oil in large pot with sausage cut into pieces. After sausage browns, add onion and celery. Cook 5 minutes. Add creole seasoning and herbs and spice, mixing well. Then add beans and broth. Cook covered for 15-20 minutes or until beans are soft (this is way too long...the beans are canned so come out of the can soft...probably 5 minutes is enough). Check seasoning-you want it strong (so they say, maybe if you are like me, you don't want it strong)-rice will cut the taste back. Add rice cooking for 5 minutes on low. Mix well, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes (I think you are supposed to remove it from the burner at this point although it doesn't say that specifically). If too dry add more broth.

Steve really liked this. He said it is definitely a "make again." I thought it was a bit too spicy. The kids ate it and didn't complain about the heat at all, so I think that's a good sign. This kind of reminded me of Zatarain's, you know those mixes you can buy. But this was better, because again, no preservatives or whatever else they put in there. And you could make this with any meat, I bet, not just smoked sausage. I know a lot of people don't like that, even though our fam really really does.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced (again with the smoked sausage but we LOVE it!)
1 1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 lg onion, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp creole seasoning
1/4 cup oil
4 tbsp herbs and spice
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 12 oz can V8
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups instant rice (I again used less rice since I used brown...I only used 2 cups...it cooked faster but the dish was a bit too watery, so I will use 2 1/2 cups next time)

Brown sausage and chicken in oil in large pot. Add seasonings and mix well. Add onions, green pepper, and celery. Mix well. Add V8 and tomatoes and cook 15-20 minutes or until veggies are softened. Add chicken broth, check seasoning, and bring to a boil. Add rice, mix, cover and let stand 15 minutes (again I think you remove from the heat). Add more broth if needed.

So even though this has very similar ingredients to the beans and rice, it has quite a different flavor, due to the tomatoes. Oh and no beans. So this was very very good. It made a lot, all 5 of us ate it, and there were 4 servings of leftovers. Yet another keeper!!