Jambalaya

Although 97% of the recipes I post on this blog are things I've invented or family pass-downs, I still try other people's recipes too.  I probably should more often, but I never seem to make it all the way through the recipe without modifying ingredients and spices to make it perfectly suited to my own taste.  Another problem is that I also don't really believe in measuring when I cook because each time the ingredients I'm using might need different amounts of salt or spices depending on the season.  Regardless, I hate following recipes word for word.  I blame it on my creativity and stubborn personality.  This past week, however, I did follow a recipe by Rachel Ray for jambalaya, which I had no idea how to prepare myself.  I did some tweaking, but only for the spices that I thought I had at home while I was at the grocery store, and then they weren't there when I got back.  The substitutions I made might have made the recipe even better than hers...sorry Rachel, I'm coming for Food Network!  I knew it was a hit when I wasn't allowed to bring the leftovers home from Howie's house!  Mmmmmm!