My son Ali went to school in New Orleans, where he developed a deep and abiding love of spicy Cajun food, but we’d already fallen in love with Cajun food long before that.  I found this recipe in Emeril Lagasse’s cookbook:  Louisiana Real & Rustic.  It’s one of my favorite cookbooks – with family recipes and wonderful storytelling.  This recipe is a blend of two recipes from the cookbook, but super easy to make and so delicious!

Note: I’m going to write this recipe out the way I cook – in sequence. Hope it’s not too confusing!

1 lb. raw ez peel shrimp

Rinse the shrimp well, peel and set the shrimp aside for later. Add the shells to four cups water and simmer for 20-30 minutes. You only need 3 1/2 cups of the shrimp broth. Just take it off the heat and let the shells sit until you need to add the broth. Then add them after pouring them through a fine mesh strainer.

2 Tbsp Oil
2 1/2 cups onion
1 bell pepper
3/4 cup celery
2 slices turkey or real bacon, diced

Chop the onions, pepper and celery and saute in a large dutch oven. Add in the turkey bacon and cook another 5-7 minutes.

4 bay leaves
1 lb. andouille sausage, halved and cut into 1/2″ slices
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp crushed garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cayenne (can reduce if you don’t like spicy)
1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme (can use a bit more – I love thyme!)

Add to dutch oven and saute 5-7 minutes.

2 cups rice (I use basmati)
3 1/2 cups shrimp broth
4 chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
shrimp

Add all to dutch oven, stir well and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook 25 minutes. Totally delicious and even better the second day.

This is a family recipe that my Mom and Grandmother used to make.  Grandma always said it was an easy dish to make on wash day, which was a very labor intensive day on the farm. Of course she’d use vegetables she’d canned herself.  I still remember the rows of shining mason jars on a wooden shelf in the basement of the farmhouse.

In fact the very first blue Mason jar that I ever collected was from the “cave” of the farmhouse where my grandmother grew up.  The house was long gone, and I was a crazy 10-year-old going down into a potential cave-in situation, but I found a blue mason jar with veggies still in it.  Who knows, they may have just missed being used in Wash Day Casserole!  Anyway, this recipe is my son Samir’s favorite, and his first recipe request.

2 potatoes, scrubbed well and cut in 1/2″ pieces
1 can green beans, liquid reserved
1 can corn, drained
1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked – we use Basmati)
1 can tomato sauce or 1/2 cup ketchup
salt, pepper
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (optional)

Cook potatoes with green bean liquid, and add a little salt and pepper.
Brown hamburger and add diced onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.

In a large bowl layer and smooth out the following, (starting with the cooked potatoes) sprinkling just a little salt and pepper on each layer. (I add a little Lawry’s Seasoned Salt in place of the regular salt, but it’s not part of the original recipe.)

Potatoes with liquid
green beans
corn
hamburger mix
rice
tomato sauce or ketchup

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or so, until everything is warmed through.