Beans & Rice

I am so proud of myself. In my quest to add protein to my diet, I decided to attempt Red Beans & Rice last night. Not many recipes elude me, but somehow every type of bean/rice dish does. I think because in every recipe I’ve tried, the rice is cooked with the beans, and they get too dry or the rice gets overcooked or something. This recipe cooks the beans and rice separately. So I thought I would give it another shot.

It’s been a few months since a recipe I’ve tried actually makes it to the repertoire, so I am excited about this. Especially because it is so high in protein, fiber, and its not your typical chicken dish.

Ingredients
16 oz bag of red beans
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package kielbasa-type sausage.
1 tsp sage
salt to taste
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves

Soak and drain beans. Add six cups of water and cook until almost soft. Saute onions and garlic in oil until soft. I was out of olive oil, so used sunflower oil instead. Add sauté to beans. Cut sausage into bite size pieces and add to beans. Add tomatoes and spice. Salt to taste. Let simmer until beans are soft. Serve over rice. Mmmm.

I also discovered that if you don’t have Cajun seasoning, you can combine the following spices to make it:

Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Black Pepper

How easy is that? I wasn’t trying to be all precise so I didn’t measure anything. I just added each individual spice to the pot. But I plan on making a small amount to have on hand sometime soon.

So, if you feel like trying it, let me know how it turns out!