Red Beans and Rice

Description: I am from New Orleans. Enough said?! We eat red beans and rice almost every Monday night.

Ingredients:

1 pound of red beans

2 stalks celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 yellow onions, sliced thin

8 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. thyme

1 Tbsp. parsley

1 package sausage

1 smoked turkey leg or ham hock

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: Wash and pick over beans to remove stones and bad beans. Soak in water for 8-10 hours. Dice sausage and put in large pot. Cook on high heat for about 5 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic to sausage. Continue to cook until onions turn translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 2-4 hours. The longer you cook them, the thicker and creamier your beans will be. Before serving, take the back of a heavy spoon and mash some of the beans against the side of the pot. Then give a good stir before serving over rice. Most southerners serve this with cornbread, but since we can't have corn in our house anymore I serve them with dinner rolls. (A recipe for another day!)

I always make a double batch when I cook this and we get 5 meals out of it when I do that; one for now and four for later. Which means that I only have to cook it once a month and we have beans for every Monday night.

Alterations: My husband likes to put a few dashes of Tabasco on his before he eats, because he likes a little spice. If your family likes food spicier, add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to the pot when you add the other spices.

Rating: As my husband shovels spoonfuls into his mouth before I put the rest away for another meal he gives this meal 5 stars. I hope your crew enjoys it as much as mine does.