The black beans and rice I made were so legit
Yesterday I posted saying I was broke, as was my refrigerator and also my brain. I ended up making black beans and rice with andouille sausage and it was so dang good I came back to share. I do not have a picture, although I doubt a picture of that with my phone would have been very appetizing. Black beans do love to color anything they are cooked with. I went with cajun-ish spices. I had this Zatarain's black beans and rice a few weeks ago and I liked the flavors in it but not the boat loads of sodium and I knew I could make it better. This was very, very good. It was also very inexpensive. The most expensive thing was the sausage. I had rice and spices at home and just bought beans, sausage, and the produce.
1 lb. black beans
12 oz. andouille sausage (I used Zenner's, I LOVE their andouille. Lots of jalapenos.)
1 medium onion, diced (I used white)
2 stalks celery, diced
2/3 small red pepper
1/3 small green pepper
4-5 cloves garlic
paprika
oregano
black pepper
TJ's 21 seasoning salute
bay leaf
4 cups water
salt
rice
I had my husband do a quick soak for me while I was at work. He boiled the beans for two minutes and then covered and took off the heat. That sat for about 4 hours until I was ready to use the them.
I sliced the sausage and started to brown while I chopped my other veggies. When the sausages were partially browned I added the onion, celery, and bell pepper. I let this cook 5-10 minutes, until softened but not browned. I added the garlic for a couple of minutes. I added around 1-2 tsp each of paprika, oregano, black pepper, and 21 seasoning salute (I adore this stuff). I did not measure. I just added some so it would season and knew I would add some more later. But remember, you are seasoning a lot of beans. Also added the bay leaf. I stirred those around for half a minute or so and then added the water. Scraped up the fond and then added the beans. I brought this to a boil and then reduced to a simmer. I cooked with the lid mostly on for the first hour or so because I wanted dinner to be ready sooner. I took off the lid for the rest of it to reduce some of the liquid. I added some more of each spice around the middle of cooking, not a ton, just a little more. When the beans were soft I used a potato masher to mash some up to get a creamier consistency. I added salt once the beans were soft and let that cook for a few more minutes. Overall it cooked for nearly two hours.
I had basamati rice in the house so I made two cups of that. I used a can of chicken broth as part of my 3.5 cups of liquid. I meant to add a splash of red wine vinegar at the end but I forgot and it was still delicious. I will definitely make this again.
1 lb. black beans
12 oz. andouille sausage (I used Zenner's, I LOVE their andouille. Lots of jalapenos.)
1 medium onion, diced (I used white)
2 stalks celery, diced
2/3 small red pepper
1/3 small green pepper
4-5 cloves garlic
paprika
oregano
black pepper
TJ's 21 seasoning salute
bay leaf
4 cups water
salt
rice
I had my husband do a quick soak for me while I was at work. He boiled the beans for two minutes and then covered and took off the heat. That sat for about 4 hours until I was ready to use the them.
I sliced the sausage and started to brown while I chopped my other veggies. When the sausages were partially browned I added the onion, celery, and bell pepper. I let this cook 5-10 minutes, until softened but not browned. I added the garlic for a couple of minutes. I added around 1-2 tsp each of paprika, oregano, black pepper, and 21 seasoning salute (I adore this stuff). I did not measure. I just added some so it would season and knew I would add some more later. But remember, you are seasoning a lot of beans. Also added the bay leaf. I stirred those around for half a minute or so and then added the water. Scraped up the fond and then added the beans. I brought this to a boil and then reduced to a simmer. I cooked with the lid mostly on for the first hour or so because I wanted dinner to be ready sooner. I took off the lid for the rest of it to reduce some of the liquid. I added some more of each spice around the middle of cooking, not a ton, just a little more. When the beans were soft I used a potato masher to mash some up to get a creamier consistency. I added salt once the beans were soft and let that cook for a few more minutes. Overall it cooked for nearly two hours.
I had basamati rice in the house so I made two cups of that. I used a can of chicken broth as part of my 3.5 cups of liquid. I meant to add a splash of red wine vinegar at the end but I forgot and it was still delicious. I will definitely make this again.