Dishing It Up Recipe Hop: Slow Cooker Recipes--Red Beans and Rice

It's back to school time, and that is a very busy time for anyone with school aged children.  My daughter will be starting Kindergarten this year, and my husband is a high school teacher, so I think we are about to know all about busy!

I great way to combat that busy dinner time rush is by using slow cookers.  While they take a little advance planning to get everything ready ahead of time, it is so great to be able to turn a knob in the morning and have dinner ready and waiting by the afternoon.

This week our recipe hop is going to be all about slow cooker meals.  The one I am going to share is a very easy adaptation of a favorite cajun meal of ours:  Red Beans and Rice.

Now I'm sure all of my friends from back home will say that these aren't "real" red beans, but they sure do taste pretty darn good!  And my kids absolutely LOVE this meal.

Ingredients  (I often multiply this recipe to freeze extra meals, but as written it will feed our family 2 meals):

1 lb. Smoked Sausage
1 lb. Red Beans
Chopped onions (if desired)
Season to taste (I put salt, pepper, garlic, and a little Tabasco sauce--I also never measure these things....)
Rice  (2 cups uncooked will feed us and leave enough for my husband to have lunch).
Cornbread Mix


Directions:

1) Pour beans into crockpot.  Fill nearly full with water.  Add seasonings.
2)  Allow to cook at least 6 hours.
3)  Add sausage about an hour before serving.  (That's just what I do..usually because I don't remember until then.)
4) Serve over cooked rice and with a side of cornbread.


So easy, cheap, and delicious!  I need to find a sale on sausage, because I've made myself hungry. =)


For more slow cooker recipes, check out some of my blogging buddies in the linky below: