Red Beans and Rice

Sounds simple, but it tastes phenomenal! With all the seasonings and spices it truly is a great comfort food. It takes a lot of ingredients, but is easy to make and takes about an hour in a half. Then you have enough for a crowd and you can freeze leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, undrained

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 3 stalks celery, cut into 1 cm pieces

• 1 large green bell pepper (or 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 red bell pepper), diced

• 1 lb hot sausage (Andouille or kielbasa), cut in half lengthways and then cut into 1 cm half moon (half circle) shapes 🌓

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 4 cloves garlic. minced

• 2 whole bay leaves

• A pinch of dried thyme

• 1 tsp. dried oregano

• 3 cubes chicken bouillon, crushed (about 1 heaped teaspoon)

• ~1 cup of water

• 1 tsp. Tony Chachere’s / cajun seasoning, or to taste

• 6 sliced green onions, garnish (optional)

• 2-4 cups cooked rice (white or brown)

Directions:

1. Cut and prepare everything before you start cooking, it makes things easier (see picture below).

2. While making the red beans you can cook the rice in another pot.

3. Heat up oil in a 4 quart pot on medium or medium-high heat. Fry the sausage until well browned (about 5-7 minutes). When the sausage is cooked, add the bell pepper, onion, and celery. Cover and continue cooking 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and slightly charred (browned) (see picture below).

4. Next add the minced garlic and fry about 1 minute until it's fragrant.

5. Then add in the beans, chicken bouillon, bay leaves, 1 tsp. cajun seasoning, thyme, oregano, and 3/4 cup water into the pot.

6. Bring everything to a boil and boil for 20 minutes on medium-high heat.

7. Then reduce the heat to simmer for another 30 minutes.

8. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

9. Serve on or mixed in with rice. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.

10. When storing, I store the bean and rice parts separately so the rice doesn't get soggy. But I reheat and eat them together.

11. 8-10 servings.

Cut all the ingredients and gathered all the spices and beans.

After the sausage and vegetables are done cooking.

This is what it looked like while simmering. I know it doesn't look super pretty, but trust me, it will taste great!