Easy Red Beans, Rice & Sausage

As soon as the temperature begins to drop, I get an itch for certain types of comfort dishes. My mother’s variation of red beans and rice, which called for black-eyed peas rather than red beans, was a staple in our home when we were growing up. This is my easy, lighter and spicier red-beaned variety.

Ingredients:

1 package Hillshire Farm Lite Polska Kielbasa

2 cans light red kidney beans, drained

1 package Uncle Ben’s boil-in-the-bag brown rice

2 cups water (more as necessary)

1 white onion, finely chopped

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

• Heat olive oil in Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add and sauté onions and garlic. 

• Add beans, two cups of water, salt and chili powder.

• Bring water to a boil then turn to medium heat and cover.

• Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently and adding water when needed.

• Add sausage. Stir and cook an additional 15 minutes.

• In the meantime, cook rice as directions indicate.

• Plate rice; then pour red bean mixture on top.