Creole Red Beans and Rice

 I took my oldest on a "food trip" last Friday, and after stopping at Gizdich Ranch, Corralitos Market and Sausage Co, and Gayle's Bakery, we had a terrific spaghetti dinner.

Today I found i still had a couple of links of Corralitos Andoulle sausage, and figured I needed to do something with it. Luckily I found a recipe for Cajun Red Beans and Rice at Damn Delicious that I was able to twist to my needs.

Heres my Creole version of the recipe!

Ingredients:

    1 cup rice

    1 tablespoon vegetable oil

    1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced or ham, diced

    1 medium sweet onion, diced

    1 bell pepper, any color, diced

    2 celery ribs, diced

    2 tablespoons lemon juice

    2 tablespoons tomato paste

    3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

    1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

    3 (15-ounce) cans red beans, drained and rinsed

    3 cups chicken stock

    1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

    2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

    In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.

    Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes; set aside.

    Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Use the lemon juice to deglaze the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

    Stir in tomato paste, garlic and Cajun seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.

    Stir in red beans, chicken stock, hot sauce, and sausage; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover; continue to simmer until reduced, an additional 15 minutes.

    Using a wooden spoon, mash beans until slightly thickened, if desired; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    Serve immediately, topped with rice and garnished with parsley, if desired.

Spanish Rice

Folks-
Obligatory mea-culpa over how long it's been since I posted anything.
Now that I have that out of the way...
I've enjoyed making Spanish Rice as a side dish with my Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast (my first post here!) for several years now. I've found it especially easy to make, and a rather unexpectedly forgiving recipe. You can tell just how versatile it is from the options I give below. The key to making it is the Browning of the rice, and the rice to liquid ratio (follow the instructions for your rice. The below amounts are an average suggested amount.) Feel free to try your own variations! Anything you try here is going to be better than boxed, store-bought rice.
Here's my recipe for Spanish Rice:

2-4 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable, olive, grape seed, or sunflower)
2 cups long grain white rice
3 cups chicken stock OR beef stock OR vegetable stock OR water and bullion cubes to make a stock
1 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste OR one cup chopped stewed no-salt tomatoes, drained OR one cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano OR 1/2 tsp dried Italian spices

Optional (any or all of these):
1/4 tsp paprika or chili powder
1 tbsp chopped green pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 tsp turmeric

Heat the cooking oil in a pot over high heat. Brown the rice just until it is somewhat translucent. Add the onion, garlic, tomato paste or tomatoes, and if you're using it, the green pepper, and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. Add stock and spices and bring to a rolling boil. Cover and reduce heat to very low, and summer for 20 minutes. Do NOT lift the lid to check on it! Use a glass-top pot if you might want to do this. Turn the heat off and allow the rice to rest covered for five minutes before fluffing with a fork.
You can optionally stir-in a pound of browned and drained hamburger meat, diced and cooked chicken or turkey, shredded pork, or fish to make this a main-course, or serve it as a side-dish with my Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast, or with tacos, encheladas, or other Mexican foods.
Just try it already! It's a breeze! Honest!