Easy Red Beans And Rice!

Here's another quick and easy meal! I remember my dad making red beans and rice when I was a kid and I've always loved it! I can't believe it took so many years for me to actually make my own version! This is a simple and inexpensive meal option for when you aren't sure what to make for dinner or you have next to no time to cook something elaborate! I have been having to make my hubby's lunches for work the night before, because he's been SUPER busy with two jobs (He truly is amazing and I love him more than anyone could possibly know and I am BEYOND blessed to have him!) Since he gets up fairly early and is gone the entire day, I don't have much of an option... This meal is a hearty and fairly healthy option compared to him getting fast food or something. Which I REFUSE to let him do, since I am perfectly capable of making him a hot home cooked meal! He also prefers my cooking to anyone else, so it makes me happy to make him something yummy for a long day of hard work!


OK! I may have gone slightly off the subject there so let's get started! You can always add or subtract anything you wish and make this dish into something of your own, this is just what I do!

Ingredients:

• Sausage (I use 4 Hot Italian Sausages)
• Onion (I use half of an Onion)
• Garlic (I use about 4 or 5 cloves, we like garlic around here ha ha)
• 1 Bell Pepper (I use 1 Green Bell Pepper, I prefer Red, but we didn't have one)
• 1 Carton Fresh Mushrooms
• 1 Can Red Beans
• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes (I usually get the spicy kind)
• Rice (I like Basmati Rice)
• Spices (I use Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper, White Pepper, Cumin and sometimes Oregano)

Preparation:

Chop your onion, garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms and set them aside. Next I like to remove the sausages from their casings, add my seasonings and crumble them up. Add your onions and garlic to a hot skillet and cook until slightly brown. (about a minute) Next add your sausage and cook until brown. If your skillet is large enough to hold the rest of the ingredients wonderful! Mine, however is not, so I transfer the meat into a pot that is set to low heat. Add your beans and diced tomatoes and give it a stir. Then add your mushrooms and bell pepper, stir it up again, cover and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. While that is simmering, around 15 minutes left to go, I'll make my rice. If you are unfamiliar with how to cook rice, I use a cup of rice to 2 cups of water, let it come to a boil then cover it and let it cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Then I take it off the heat and let it sit for another 5 minutes. 

And Voila! An inexpensive, hearty and delicious meal! 

That was my simplified version of red beans and rice!

I hope you enjoyed, if you make this feel free to send me a photo! (I'm on Instagram and Twitter!)

xoxoxo