Cajun Dirty Rice

In honor of Mardi Gras (which was a week ago, but I'm behind since my husband is out of town!), I wanted to share a great, easy cajun dish with you! I wish I could tell you how to make an awesome etoufee or remoulade or jambalaya or Poboy or Muffeletta. But I'm not too proficient in that realm of cajun cooking and those things are not as family friendly as a one pot meal like dirty rice!! On a side note, I plan to work on some of those other dishes in the near future, but this is one we have down, and everyone loves it in our family! This recipe comes from Paul Prudomme's cookbook I'm pretty sure by way of my father-in-law, Jack. Mine doesn't taste as good as his!

 

The trinity of Cajun cooking--celery, onion, and bell pepper!

Cajun Dirty Rice
1/2 tsp cheyenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
2 bay leaves
2 lb ground beef
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 Tbs butter
2 cups rice

 

 Mix all the spices together in a small bowl and set aside. Brown ground beef in a large pot. Drain grease. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, spices, and chicken broth to the pot. Allow to come to a boil. Add butter and rice. Cover with a lid and cook on low for about 20 minutes (same as you would with regular rice). Stir at least once to keep from sticking. Add additional water if rice is not done when water is cooked out. Stir and serve with some Tabasco for those who like a little more kick! 

Notes: I usually only put about 1/4 tsp cheyenne and it isn't too spicy at all if I do that. Brian doesn't like it as good that way, but the kids can eat it and I just let Brian add Tabasco! Also, back when we were poor grad students, I would only put 1 pound of ground beef in this to save a little money. We've actually grown to where we prefer that now--2 pounds just seems like too much to us now. I actually put around 500g here where I live, which is a little more than one pound. I chop my veggies as little as I can with a hand chopper or food processor to cut down on hearing "Mom, I don't like the green stuff!" as much as possible! Surprisingly, the veggies cook in enough that I don't think they notice it too much! I usually serve this with some french bread, sliced tomatoes and/or cucumbers in vinegar. We served this to a local friend a week or two ago and he loved it--said it actually reminded him of a dish his family makes at New Year. Enjoy!! Oh and as always I forgot a final product picture! Oh well!