Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday {March 4th}! The day before Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras is a day to feast on everything fatty, sweet, just bad for you! A day to splurge before going into the lent season. Do you choose something every year to give up? I generally don’t and to be honest I forget that Fridays are no meat Fridays, I know i’m not the best Catholic. Catholic or not, Mardi Gras is a great one to celebrate and enjoy!!! 

Sure theres the masks, beads , parades and booze but c’mon the most important part is the food! I am so excited to spend this week creating and sharing New Orleans Mardi Gras inspired eats starting right now with Red Beans & Rice. We start with the traditional base in a lot of New Orleans cooking, the Holy Trinity… onions, celery and bell pepper. The flavor that the andouille sausage adds to the is dish is amazing. Its meaty, slightly smokey and definitely a great kick of heat! We can’t forget the red kidney beans right?! Simple seasoning with fresh garlic, thyme, a little cayenne and some fresh parsley.

Traditionally dried beans are used and everything cooks slowly for a couple hours and an incredible sauce develops along the way and in the end some of the beans are mashed to thicken the mixture up a bit. My version is certainly not the traditional route but most of the flavors are there and these Red Beans & Rice are really good! I served mine over brown rice {yes I know, so not New Orleans, but this girl has to watch her figure haha}.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:38]

Stay tuned because there is plenty more Mardi Gras Eats coming your way!

HAPPY EATS!!!