Now that I am back home in Canada, it is time to put the New Orleans spices I bought to good use starting with this red beans and rice recipe! I haven’t written a recipe blog post for a while now because I was blogging about my trip! Part one, two and three are all posted for your viewing pleasure! 🙂

I watched Ann from the New Orleans School of Cooking make red beans and rice and I was eager to try these on my own! I used their recipe but altered it slightly. I added more garlic than called for (as I always do!) and I used green onion as a topper/garnish rather than parsley. I also used Joe’s Stuff seasoning for the creole spice. For the sausage, I couldn’t find andouille sausage which is what seems to be normally used in this recipe. The cooking instructor said to just be sure you get double smoked sausage, so after looking around a bit, I found a package of double smoked sausage at Save on Foods. The alternative is to use a mild flavoured sausage and then add in a dash (only a dash because it’s potent!!) of liquid smoke, and the flavours should match up. If you want to make this vegetarian, skip the sausage all together and use vegetable stock instead!

To start, I rinsed 1.5 cups of red kidney beans and then let them soak over night. I haven’t tried this recipe with canned red kidney beans, but if you are short on time (as in you want red beans and rice tonight!) then I am sure canned would work just as well!

The next day I gathered all of my ingredients.

I put a large pot on the stove and heated 3 tbsp of olive oil. In the class we were taught to use butter or lard or even bacon drippings. I don’t have these products in my house so I went with olive oil and everything turned out tasty. Obviously the other fats are going to add more flavour and richness, so it’s your call! To the hot oil I added in the chopped onion, celery, garlic and smoked sausage and let everything sauté while I stirred occasionally for 10 minutes, 

Next I added the beans and sautéed everything for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally. 

I added the chicken stock next, Joe’s Stuff seasoning and a bay leaf and brought to a boil. I then reduced to a simmer for 3 hours until the beans broke up and became creamy. I had to add a little more stock in the 3 hours to make sure the pot didn’t dry up. 

I served with brown rice and garnished with chopped green onions and it was amazing! 

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Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup red kidney beans
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 cup celery chopped
• 5 clove garlic chopped
• 2 double smoked sausage links chopped
• 1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning Joe's Stuff
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• Brown rice
• 1/4 cup green onion chopped.

Instructions

1. Rinse the red kidney beans and then let them soak over night.
2. Put a large pot on the stove and heat 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the chopped onion, celery, garlic and smoked sausage and let everything sauté while stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
3. Add the beans and sauté everything for 5 more minutes, while stirring occasionally.
4. Add the chicken stock next, the Creole seasoning and a bay leaf and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce to a simmer for 3 hours until the beans become creamy. Add a little more stock to the pot as needed to make sure the pot doesn't dry up.
6. Serve with brown rice and garnish with chopped green onions. Add hot sauce if you wish!

Recipe Notes

If you try canned kidney beans instead of the soaked beans, watch your pot while you are simmering as the beans may take less than 3 hours to cream.
I used Joe's Stuff for my Creole seasoning.
Make this vegetarian by opting out on the sausage and use vegetable broth instead.

When you go on vacation, do you bring recipes back home with you? 

P.S This is my 50th post! Yahoo!