Thursday: Crock Pot Red Beans, Sausage and Rice

 

 I love getting my crock pot out when I know I'm going to have a busy day. This was a yummy Cooking Light dish, where I could just sit back and let it do it's thing! I added a little steamed bell pepper, corn and chopped carrot to it for more color and added nutrition. Delicious!

Crock Pot Recipe
6 servings

  3 cups water
1 cup dried red kidney beans
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp smoked or regular paprika
3/4 tsp ground red pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 (14oz) package turkey, pork or beef smoked sausage, sliced
1 bay leaf
5 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
1/4 cup red bell pepper, steamed or sauteed
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup carrots, chopped, steamed or sauteed
chopped cilantro or parsley to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Add all ingredients from water to salt in crock pot.  Leave your crock pot on High for 5 hours. 
2. Steam bell pepper, corn and carrots.  Add the vegetables to crock pot when ingredients in crock pot are done cooking. Spoon beans and vegetables over hot, steaming rice. Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley. So easy!

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Plan and Prep Ahead

Here are some helpful techniques to make life a little easier once dinner time hits. These tips will especially help those that work full-time and don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner.

~Chop all vegetables and sausage ahead of time and refrigerate until time of use.

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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP?

~Use a different type of beans like pinto, black, or white.
~Add parmesan cheese or monterrey jack as a topping. 
~Try Italian seasoning or oregano instead of thyme. 
~Omit the sausage and turn this into a vegetarian meal.

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