>My family (politely) complains that my cooking can be a wee bit bland. They’re right. I haven’t mastered the fine art of spices and seasoning. When I found a Gumbo recipe that had a Creole Seasoning recipe on the side, I ripped the page out of the magazine and made the seasoning right away. Honestly, I admit it; I made the seasoning the next morning. That’s still a fairly quick turnaround, isn’t it?

The other issue is this: our latest dietary guidelines. On our doctor’s advice, we’re cutting carbs down to a very tiny portion of our daily eating. Since instant white rice is not so good for either of us. I went searching for an alternative to our favorite boxed dirty rice mix. Using the new seasoning and a bag of long grain brown rice, I came up with this Dirty Rice.

Creole Seasoning Ingredients:
2 1/2 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Store in a tightly covered jar. Yields 2/3 cup.

Daisy’s Dirty Rice

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef or ground chuck

1/4 cup each: green pepper, red onion, celery

1 cup cooked brown rice (check this out; it takes a while to cook)

Brown ground beef with pepper, onion, and celery. Drain and rinse in colander. Add rice and beef mix to skillet along with 2 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning Mix and 1 cup water. Simmer until heated through and excess water has evaporated. Serve with fruit or a salad on the side.

The verdict: delicious. La Petite and Chuck (formerly known as Husband) added green tabasco sauce to theirs, but they pronounced it a success. I don’t think they knew the rice was healthier than our usual brand; I didn’t tell them!

Creole Seasoning from a Gumbo recipe in the Braille Monitor, July 2009 edition. I’ll try the gumbo and pass it on if it works!