Quick Red Beans and Rice-SL-3/11

[Terrytx]

I have made Red Beans and Rice many, many times thru my cooking days, and this was the easiest time yet. It was actually very good and tasted as if it had been an all day project (at least, to me) and DH said he thought it was great also. This will be my "go to" recipe from now on.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Quick Red Beans and Rice

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Poultry

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------

Yield: Makes about 7 cups (serving size: about 1 cup bean mixture and 1
cup rice)


Ingredients
2 (16-oz.) cans light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 pound andouille smoked chicken sausage, thinly sliced
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
2 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
3 cups uncooked long-grain rice
Garnish: sliced green onions
Preparation
1. Sauté sausage and next 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven over medium-high
heat 10 minutes or until sausage is browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.
Add beans, Creole seasoning, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce
heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Serve with red
bean mixture. Garnish, if desired.

Note: We tested with Aidells Organic Fully Cooked Cajun Style Andouille
Smoked Chicken Sausage.

Nutritional Information
Calories:420
Fat:3.5g (sat 1g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:19.7g
Carbohydrate:76.3g
Fiber:13g
Cholesterol:35mg
Iron:1.1mg
Sodium:490mg
Calcium:65mg


Source:
"Southern Living, MARCH 2011"

[Meganator]

Thanks Terry! For quick weeknight red beans and rice, I usually keep one of the box mixes on the shelf and just add sausage. This sounds fast enough to replace that.

[TieKitty]

Thanks for posting this, Terry. I have respect for your reviews. They are always right on. I'm printing it now.

[Ohioan]

Thanks for the review, Terry. What kind of "Creole seasoning" do you use? Or do you make your own, and, if so, can you give us the recipe?

I usually skip recipes that call for ready-mixed seasonings such as creole, cajun, curry powder, etc., because there are so many possible variations, depending on who's mixed the spices and/or herbs. I usually make my own "curry powder," which I vary depending on the other ingredients in the dish, and I imagine people do the same with Creole and Cajun seasonings.

So who here has a favorite Creole blend? Hmmmmmm???

Cheers,
Phoebe

[Mary Ann]

Phoebe, I like Emeril's creole seasoning....

Emeril's Creole Seasoning (Essence)

Recipe from New New Orleans Cooking by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, Published by William and Morrow, 1993


Makes about 2/3 cup

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

[Terrytx]

I used Tony Chachere's, cause I had it.

[Ohioan]

Thanks a lot, Terry and Mary Ann! Mary Ann, Emeril's seasoning sounds a lot like the Cajun mix from The Spice House (which I have), except the Spice House mix is salt-free.

Now, if only I can remember to get the sausage next time I'm at the store....

Cheers,
Phoebe

[bobmark226]

Now, if only I can remember to get the sausage next time I'm at the store....

Surely you've got a freezer burned sale kielbasa that will work just as well, Phoebe?

Bob

[Ohioan]

Surely you've got a freezer burned sale kielbasa that will work just as well, Phoebe?

Bob

Nah, I eat meat so seldom that if I put any meat in the freezer, it would be crashed and burned by the time I remembered it was there.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[TieKitty]

We had this for dinner last night. It was sooo easy and very good. This will be the recipe I use from now on. Thanks for posting it, Terry.

[Kyra]

Terry, thank you for posting this recipe. I have been looking for an easy red beans and rice recipe for some time, and I think this will be it. As a previous poster said, I like your reviews! I will try to remember to come back and let you know how we liked in, but no promises.

I do not have a Creole seasoning recipe, but I do have a Cajun one that I like. I either got it off the Internet many years ago or cobbled it together from various sources. This is scaled to produce 6 tsp (2 Tbsp) for the honey baked shrimp recipe I love, from Joy of Cooking.

Cajun Seasoning

One teaspoon each:
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika

One-half teaspoon each:
salt
black pepper
white pepper
red pepper (cayenne)
oregano
thyme

That's dried oregano and thyme in there, and I found this recipe before I discovered different kinds of paprika. I can't remember, when I last make it, if I used sweet or smoked or Spanish or what. (That's not helpful, I know.) It's also not very salty, which I like so I can adjust the recipe's overall sodium level depending on ingredients, but of course it's easy to add more.

[Meganator]

I made this today, and it is a definite repeater for us. I used Tony Chacere's seasoning, which doesn't have herbs, so I added 1 tsp each oregano and thyme. I also made beans from dry, so I used pot liquor instead of chicken broth. I also probably used more sausage than called for, because I had some that needed to be used up (working on that freezer challenge...).

[PAMMELA]

I used Tony Chachere's, cause I had it.

I use Tony's cuz i love it!