Cajun Macaroni & Cheese - specialty spices

My friend Lisa spent a few years living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  One of the times she came up to visit, she brought us a little present: a jar of Tony's Creole Seasoning.  That made possible lots of deliciousness, including this Cajun Macaroni & Cheese.  So what's the big deal?  Well, sometimes I feel like using a spice blend, such as this one, is a) cheating and b) unhelpful to use a pre-made mix.  Cheating for obvious reasons - shouldn't I be making it from scratch by blending its constituent spices?  And unhelpful because I'm basically saying "if you want to make this, you must go to the store and buy this particular brand of an item."  And, I mean, I'm not on the payroll of a spice company, and I don't usually specify a brand for other ingredients (some foodbloggers do this - telling you to use a particular olive oil or, I don't know, sour cream or something, but it doesn't sit right with me).  But I guess I justify it by figuring I won't have to buy all the constituent spices, some of which might be expensive or hard to find.  So if I post a recipe that says to use a particular spice blend, I mean that's what I did - it might make it easier for you to do the same, but if you want to make your own, I certainly wouldn't stop you.

You know what else I won't stop you from doing?  Making this.  Listen.  It's not just macaroni and cheese (already good) with Tony's mixed in (even better).  It's also got green onions, which I think are an improvement to nearly everything, green peppers, which I love, and andouille sausage, which is spicy and delicious.  And my aforementioned Louisiana-dwelling friend Lisa?  She made this and gave it her stamp of approval.  If that isn't enough reason for you to go for it, I don't know what is. The recipe. Go.