Cajun Shrimp and Sausage over Rice

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" To translate from french, "Let the good times roll!" Tomorrow is Mardi Gras so let's get the celebration started today.  Mardi Gras is french for "Fat Tuesday" and it's a day for carnival celebrations and indulging in some rich and fattening food before the Lenten Season begins.  In the United States, the place to celebrate Mardi Gras is New Orleans so I had to come up with something Cajun to bring to the party.  I came up with this Cajun Shrimp and Sausage dish to heat things up.   I combined shrimp and hot sausage with the Cajun "trinity" made up of  green bell pepper, celery and onion. This tasty dish can be served over a bed of rice or even noodles. Hope you celebrate tomorrow and let the good times roll.

Ingredients:
1lb hot sausage
1lb cleaned shrimp
1 large bell pepper diced
1 Tbs minced (or grated) fresh garlic
1 large onion diced
2-3 celery stalks diced
1/2 red or yellow pepper diced (optional)
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp paprika
black pepper and salt to taste
red chili flakes to taste
1 (15oz) diced tomatoes
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Serve over rice and green salad.

Directions:

Prepare all your vegetables known as the "trinity". Brown the sausage really well.  Cook it until there is some really good color on the sausage (but not burned). You will have some brown bits on the bottom of your pan, that all adds flavor.Your sausage will render out some fat. Keep only about 2 Tbs worth and remove the excess.  My sausage rendered only about 2 Tbs completely.

Next add the prepared vegetables and garlic to the sausage. As the vegetables cook, scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the brown bits with a wooden spoon.   Then add seasonings.

Next add the shrimp, Worcestershire sauce and the diced tomatoes.  Cook for  5-7 more minutes or until shrimp cooks through.  Taste for seasoning and salt.  Serve over hot rice and serve with a salad. Enjoy.

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