Red Beans and Rice

about 2 months ago I was the host for my book club (we take turns hosting)...
and...
depending on the book and the host sometimes there is food served per the genre of the book...
we meet at 7, so usually there is a dessert but it can be a little late for dinner
     (well, that's a late dinner for me...)
anyways, we had read the book Five Smooth Stones a book set in the south during the 60's (great book, I highly recommend)...
and the main character in the book was know for his great cooking ability, his specialty being Red Beans and Rice...so I decided to make some for book club, along with corn bread (my recipe is NOT southern but I like it and it's what I made) and a gooey butter cake (recipe to follow soon...)

anyways, the Red Beans and Rice were a hit with the family and the book club...and it will be a staple on our winter menu...the girl child loves it but doesn't like 'sausage' aka kielbasa & the boy child loves it and he doesn't like beans...so she eats his beans and he eats her kielbasa and I figure they are both getting a protein....

Red Beans and Rice
1 (16 ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut diagonally into 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, chopped
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped including leaves
1 cup sweet peppers* chopped
1 clove garlic chopped or grated
2 (15 ounce) cans canned kidney beans, drained
1+ cups broth (chicken or veggie...or water and bullion)
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
rice (I used jasmine rice both times I've made it...we are in love with jasmine rice!)
Start/cook rice (per your rice cooking directions)...
In a large skillet over low heat, cook sausage for 5 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, sweet pepper and garlic; saute until tender. Pour in beans, broth and tomatoes with juice. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.


This is a very easy recipe and all ingredients that I usually have on hand, I've added it to my throw down recipe list!

*I get a big bag of peppers and use them in everything...I like these better than the plain ol' green peppers, sweeter...and bonus the kids like to eat them as a snack after school with ranch...

cozy soup day

who doesn't love soup on a rainy day...

and even better, putting soup in the crock pot in the morning and letting the smells drift thru the house all day long....

I'm putting a batch of Crock-Pot Minestrone soup on, and cutting up extra stuff, going to run over to my friend Kim's house later this morning and put a batch into her crock pot also...

blog note...when taking a meal to a friend think outside the box...are they okay with you coming into their home and prep-ing the meal there?...would they be okay with you coming over in the morning and putting the meal in their own crock pot?

...this is a good easy soup that is full of flavor and tons of veggies...but mild that kids love it...
it's also easy to make on the stove top...and actual this was a stove top recipe that I changed into a crock pot one...
it's also a very versatile recipe to make vegetarian or to use what you have on hand...clean out the fridge and pantry on this one...

Throw Down-Clean out the Pantry Minestrone Soup
1 lb ground beef (optional, leave out for vegetarian or change to ground turkey or pork or sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped about 1/2 cup
1 clove garlic, grated or chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped (cabbage or kale can be substituted)
1 can broth (beef, chicken, veggie) or
     1 1/4 cup water and 2 tsp beef or chicken bouillon
1/4 cup fresh basil-chopped (or 1 tsp dried basil or Italian seasoning)
3-4 cups veggies
     chopped celery, sliced carrots, zucchini, squash, green beans (fresh, canned, or frozen), corn (fresh, canned or frozen) etc...don't count the spinach from above in the 3-4 cups or the tomatoes below
1 can chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 can beans, undrained-kidney (red or white), black, your choice
1 cup shell pasta (or whatever you have on hand, small tortellinis or raviolis also work)
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese to top

1.  Brown ground beef in skillet with onion and garlic, drain and put into crock pot.
2.  Add all other ingredients except pasta and cheese...cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  about one hour before serving add pasta to the crock pot and stir.  Soup is done with pasta is tender.
3.  Serve warm with cheese on top....and with fresh bread if you can!

all the stuff just thrown into the crock...pre-pasta of course!

this is so great on a rainy day like today...can't wait for dinner...I also threw a batch of French bread into my bread maker...

I highly recommend people use their bread machines...so many have them and leave them in the dark corner of their pantry or out in the garage, pull it out, dust it off and throw in a nice batch of bread....if you don't have one you can always find them at thrift stores or yard sales or on clearance sales this time of year.

Sweet-n-Sour Beans

this is an old family recipe...
well, maybe not old...but it's a recipe that I have found memories of from childhood and make it for my family and they love it...

it's a fast one to throw together with stuff you usually have in the pantry and you can 'ad-lib' the recipe a bit...
and it also does well in the crock pot...
it can be a main dish or a side...
beef or vegetarian....

love the versatility of this recipe...

Sweet-n-Sour Beans
1 lb ground beef (optional if you're going the vegetarian route!)
1 onion chopped (optional)
2 stalks celery chopped (optional...I just forget these sometimes...so focused on the beans)
3-5 cans of beans*, drained and rinsed,
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup vinegar
water

brown the ground beef with the onion and celery in a medium pot, drain. (or put into crock pot)
add the rest of the ingredients, may need to add a can or two of water depending on the consistency you want...I prefer a heartier recipe so I don't usually add any...
stir and bring to boil, simmer for about 20 minutes before serving...you can cook for longer...the longer the better the flavors will be.
or in the crock for as long as you need...high for 3 hours, low for up to 10....

* use all or a mixture of what you have in your pantry or what your family likes...
I usually chose based on color, the more variety the better, this is the norm...1 can kidney, 1 can black, 1 can white (great northern or white kidney), 1 can green beans
other options are pinto beans, garbanzo beans, butter beans, black eyed beans, etc...I would steer clear of any bean that has been flavored like a chili bean...

~this is great with cornbread for dinner
~as a side at a bbq or potluck
~with meat/without meat this is hearty and filling!

Beans Beans the Musical Fruit...

it was a day that NEEDED a throw down meal...and I didn't realize it until, oh, about 4:45...

it's actually been a throw down meal week!!!

*husband's out of town...

*took the boy and his friend on a field trip 

     (yeah...preschool field trips=parents driving to and staying for the whole time)

*grocery shopping...with no list...but it had to be done...

    going on about week 3 of no real grocery shopping trip....

          just little things here and there...

*girls piano lessons rescheduled for today

     normally they're on Tuesday and they're dad's duty...

          but he's out of town...so now it's me

*helping the girl with the end of the week's homework packet=the pages the girl didn't want to do all week

so while I'm helping the girl with homework I'm "reading" my favorite new cookbook

...the Dinner Doctor....

and came across the recipe Black Bean Soup...

and guess what was on sale, on an end cap today, while I was grocery shopping???

...Yep...you guessed it...

Black Beans...and since I didn't have a list I was just grabbing random things...

so without a proper list or any menu in my head I for some reason bought 6 cans of black beans...

YES...6 cans...

I was thinking,

   "Oh, I'll make taco salad this week"...

and for that simple reason my brain decided on 6 cans...

     reason #37 why I need a grocery list!

So now I have 6 cans of black beans in my pantry and a beautifully simple black bean soup recipe right in front of me...and it's a blustery soup sort of day...sometimes life is just swell like that...

oh, and of course this isn't the recipe that was in the book...this is my modified recipe...because even though I had just gone grocery shopping hours earlier, I had done so without a list (remember 6 cans of black beans...not to mention the OTHER beans I bought!!!)...and without a menu...so a few things that the recipe called for were NOT in our house...

so I just made due...and it turned out YUMMY

ChambersMade Black Bean Soup

2 cans Black Beans, NOT drained

1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cube of chicken bullion and 1 cup HOT water)

1/4 cup onion, chopped up

1 bay leaf (I wasn't sure I had one...but I found them at the back of the black hole I call my spice cupboard...thinking they might have been there for a few years so I'm not sure how much bay was left in the leaf...so I threw 2 in just to be sure!)

salt and pepper to taste

sour cream and grated cheddar cheese to top

1.  Place beans, their liquid, chicken broth, onion, and bay leaf into saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring just to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover the pan, bring to boil, reduce heat to med-low and let soup simmer for 5-7 minutes...YEP 5-7 minutes!!!

2.  Remove from heat.  Discard bay leaf (or leaves).  And smash soup with potato masher...the recipe said to pour into a food processor and puree...like I'm going to get another appliance dirty...this is a one dish meal and it's staying that way...and it worked out beautifully!

3.  Serve with sour cream and cheese to top it with...

we ate this with steamed artichokes...it was a wonderfully yummy...wonderfully fast dinner...and the kids LOVED it...there was 1/2 cup of soup left over...we would have been scraping the pan had the husband been home...I will probably double next time because leftover soup is good!...and then I'd be using 4 of the 6 cans I randomly bought!