Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

4 cans red kidney beans or

1lb raw kidney beans cooked

2 tbl. Canola oil 

1/2 onion diced

2 stalks celery diced

1/2 bell pepper diced 

3-4 cups beef broth

2 tbl. Cajun seasoning 

1 lb. andouille sausage

1 large ham steak 

1 1/2 cups rice 

3 cups water 

2 tsp. Salt

2 tbl. Butter 

Tabasco sauce 

I use canned beans simply for convenience, especially if I'm making this on a weeknight. The reason is that for this recipe even after the beans are cooked you are still going to cook them several more hours to break them down even further so it's much easier to just start out with pre cooked beans. Chop all vegetables and slice and cube sausage and ham. Add canola oil to large deep fry pan and heat to medium high heat. Add vegetables and meat to the hot oil. Stir frequently until it all starts to get golden brown. Sprinkle in Cajun seasonings and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce and toss well. Pour vegetables and meat into large crock pot. Add in four cans of beans and beef broth. The amount of broth you use will depend on how soupy you like your red beans and rice. I like mine to come close to covering the beans but not quite. Cook on low for 4-6 hrs. You want your beans to be pretty well broken down. You can also spoon about a cup of beans out and smash with a fork and then stir back in.  Alternatively you can simmer on the stove for two hours instead of using a crockpot. About thirty minutes before you are ready to serve add 3 cups of water, 2 tsp. Salt and 2 tbl. Butter to medium lidded pot. Bring to boil. Add in 1 1/2 cups medium to long grain white rice. Return to boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Serve red beans with 1 scoop of rice and Tabasco sauce.