For the last few months, Josh has been coming home from work raving about the Red Beans and Rice that some of the southern guys have been bringing in. Finally last week I decided to give it a try and put my own spin on it. I threw in some of my own spices and added Andouille sausage for some extra flavor and kick. Both Josh and I absolutely loved it so I thought I would share it with the blogosphere. Enjoy!
Ingredients
-3 cups chicken broth
-1 bay leaf
-1 1/2 cups dry brown rice (I used minute rice and it worked perfect)
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 package or 4 links Andouille sausage cut into about 1/4 inch slices.
-1 cup chopped yellow onion
-1 cup chopped bell pepper (traditionally green but I prefer red)
-1- 15 oz can red beans (I had a VERY hard time finding actual red beans. I finally found 1 can in the Mexican section at Target. If you can't find them, Kidney beans are almost the same thing, just a bit larger)
-1- 15oz can diced tomatoes in their juices
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp black pepper
-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 tbsp Cajun or Creole seasoning (I made my own because Target didn't have any. I found the recipe here.)
-1/2 tsp blackened seasoning
-1 tbsp chopped parsley
-1 tbsp chopped thyme
-some more random things I put in that were not needed, but feel free to experiment!
Directions
-Bring Chicken broth and Bay leaf to boil in a small pot. Add the rice, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes for white rice, or 40 for brown or until the liquid is all absorbed. If using minute rice like I did, just keep an eye on it until all the liquid is absorbed. I didn't pay attention to how long, but it was pretty quick. Fluff with a fork and rest aside with lid on.
-Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced andouille sausage and cook about 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon to a plate. Cover and put aside.
-Keep the juices from the sausage in the skillet and add the onions and peppers. Cook about 5 minutes until just tender. Add garlic, stir and cook for another minute.
- Stir in Red Beans, Diced tomatoes and their juices, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cajun or creole season and blackened seasoning. Cook until heated through. Then add rice, parsley and thyme and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Return sausage to pan, stir to allow the flavors to blend.
-Serve immediately. I made some corn bread muffins to serve with it and it really added a delicious southern feel. For the corn bread I just used a Betty Crocker Cornbread mix but feel free to make them from scratch!
Like I said, I was super impressed with this meal. Josh said that he had never had the rice mixed in with the other mixture before, the guys at work just always put the mixture on top of the rice. This shocked me because every recipe I looked at had it all mixed together and I think that I much prefer it that way!
Thanks to Can You Stay For Dinner? for my base recipe.
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