Red Beans and Rice

I got this recipe from a friend, and it is oh so good!! I love beans, and as we all know, JW is a huge fan of rice. So this was a great meal for us, and easy and cheap too!

Red Beans and Rice

• One package of smoked sausage (can use spicy)
• One bag of red beans
• One green pepper, diced
• One red pepper, diced
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 7 cups of water
• 1 T of Cajun seasoning

Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 7 hours. Serve over rice.

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White Bean Cassoulet

I have a few recipes I haven’t taken pictures of recently due to a misplaced memory card (and the aforementioned battery death) but hopefully all of that will be sorted out in the very near future.

I strongly encourage you to take a peek at the photo of this cassoulet from Kitchenbelle’s blog here, and see if it doesn’t just make your mouth water.

The dish itself was fantastic. I halved the recipe but used 4 chicken sausages instead of 3, because that was how many came in the package and I’m not a wasteful person. Plus, what would I do with one lone sausage?

Also I didn’t add celery because I didn’t feel like buying any or cutting it up. I’m listing the recipe as I made it (except not halved), and you can take a look at the original if you want to add things like celery and rosemary, which I would have added if I had any.

I have to say, this was delicious, and easy! It would be wonderful in the winter, but of course I’m not going to wait that long to make a dish like this. We had it with crusty french bread and it really hit the spot.

White Bean Cassoulet (Original recipe here)

• 10 cloves garlic, sliced (I used the jarred minced stuff)
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 cans cannellini beans
• 2-4 cups chicken stock
• 6 chicken sausages, sliced

In a dutch oven, warm the olive oil and brown the sausages until no longer pink.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add garlic, onion, and carrots, and cook until vegetables are soft. Add chicken stock and beans. Bring to a boil and simmer 45-60 minutes.  Drain away some stock if the texture is too “liquidy.” Add sausage slices and cook an additional ten minutes.

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Spinach Rice Casserole

This is one of our favorite recently-discovered recipes. It originally came from Cheap, Healthy, Good and was a vegetarian recipe, made sans sausage. But although it would probably have made a decent side dish, I just thought the addition of sausage would add another dimension. And boy, did it!

It really isn’t too bad for you either, especially if you use low-fat sausage and cheese. Packed full of vitamin-rich spinach, this is a one-dish meal that has some good nutrition in it. If you use brown rice instead of white, it will really pack a nutritional punch. I usually add chopped tomatoes to the mixture for added color and flavor, but I forgot to pick some up. So pretend you see tomatoes in my pictures, okay?

 

Spinach Rice Casserole (Original recipe here)

• 1 lb. sausage (regular or low-fat)
• 9-10 oz bag of fresh spinach
• 1 cup cooked rice (white or brown)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (low-fat is fine, sometimes I use a mixture such as colby jack)
• Splash of milk (original calls for 1/3 cup, I would try 1/4 – or just splash it in without measuring like I do)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder, or chopped onion
• 1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• Chopped fresh tomatoes (optional)

Cook and drain sausage, remove from pan. Saute spinach in skillet until wilted. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Pour into greased casserole dish or 8×8 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until set in the middle. Let cool 5 min. before serving.

 

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