The first time I tried Red Beans & Rice was on a visit to New Orleans in the early 80′s. I’ve made this dish many times since my visit but decided to create a healthier version about 3 years ago. The sausage was the unhealthy part of the recipe so I went to work on using lean ground chicken or turkey…whichever is available. I have to say this is some of the best sausage I’ve ever eaten and it sure spices up my Red Beans & Rice. You’ll want to use this sausage recipe for meatballs, breakfast sausage and as a pizza topping and in chili!
Don’t let this recipe overwhelm you as it is one of the easiest and quickest meals you can make. And, if I were a betting woman, I’d say your entire family will love this dish!
Red Beans & Rice
Ingredients: (4 servings)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
2 cups dried kidney beans, rinsed and bad ones removed. Soak overnight and drain & rinse just before cooking.
sausage (recipe follows)
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium, fat free)
3 cups water
2 cups Brown Rice (Uncle Ben’s whole grain brown rice works great…NOT the quick rice). Cook rice according to the directions on package. Cook enough to yield 2 cups of rice to serve with the beans.
Directions: Heat EVOO in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté onions, bell peppers and celery for about 3 minutes. Add bay leaf, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, thyme and garlic and sausage (recipe follows) and continue to sauté breaking up the sausage as it cooks. Continue cooking until the sausage loses its pink color for about another 5 minutes. Add beans to the mixture, add chicken broth and enough water to cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours. Add more water as the mixture becomes dry and thick. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft. Add more water if the beans becomes too thick. The beans should resemble soup and not look watery. Remove the bay leaf and serve beans over a bed of steamed brown rice.
Sausage Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey or chicken
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
Directions: Place all the above ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly until well blended. While beans are soaking over night, refrigerate sausage mix over night to allow the flavors to blend. Refrigerating the sausage mix is not an absolute but I prefer when all the flavors have several hours to blend.
Gale Compton
fit fabulous forever
