Authentic Red Beans and Rice

I had an interesting experience at the gym today.  There I was, minding my own business on the elliptical when SHE came in.  There were rows of empty machines, but where does she choose to workout?  Right next to me of course.  Hello personal space invasion.  Okay, so that isn’t that much of a big deal, but it didn’t stop there.  About .001 seconds after she climbed on her machine I was knocked out by the smell of her stank ass perfume that she doused herself in before coming to the gym.  It was so strong that you could taste it.  Ugh.

But wait!!!!  There’s more!  I’m wheezing along on the elliptical, trying to ignore the burning sensation in my nose, when Mrs. Stanky Leg proceeds to whip out her ghetto ass flip phone, make a phone call to her BFF, tuck the phone into her giant headband, and proceed to carry on a conversation for the next 45 minutes.  This lady had some serious cell yell too, but I was able to drown her out with some Ludacris turned up as loud as it would go.  Gym. Etiquette. Is. Your. Friend.

In honor of President’s Day and having the day off on Monday, we invited a bunch of friends over and made a ginormous pot of red beans and rice.  Little known fact - back in the day red beans and rice were traditionally made on Mondays because the leftover ham bone from Sunday dinner was used to flavor the beans.  Also, Mondays were typically wash days, and the beans were perfect for this due to their long simmering time.  I doubled the recipe below, which technically should serve 6-8, but we still ended up with a very small leftover portion.  If you go to the trouble to make this, you might as well make a bunch – it freezes and reheats great!

So sorry about the picture quality.  I’ve misplaced my camera charger and am using my iphone until I find it. 

Authentic Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

·         1 pound dry red beans

·         8 cups water or chicken broth

·         1 tbsp. vegetable oil

·         1 large onion, chopped

·         1 green bell pepper, chopped

·         3-4 stalks celery, chopped

·         2 tbsp. minced garlic

·         1 ham hock, or any kind of ham that is on the bone

·         3 bay leaves

·         ½ tsp cayenne pepper

·         1 tsp. dried thyme

·         ¼ tsp. sage

·         1 tbsp. dried parsley

·         1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

·         A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

·         4 cups water

·         2 cups long grain white rice

Directions

1.    Rinse beans.  Place beans in a large pot, cover with water, and soak for at least 8 hours.

2.    Drain and rinse beans again.  Fill pot with 8 cups of water, chicken broth, or any combination of the two.  Bring to a boil over high heat, and continue to hard boil for 30 minutes.

3.    Meanwhile, sauté the Holy Trinity (onion, bell pepper, and celery) and garlic in oil until almost tender.  Set aside.

4.    Reduce heat to low.  Add the Holy Trinity, garlic, ham hock, spices, sausage, and Worcestershire.  Simmer for 5-6 hours, adding more liquid as necessary.  

5.    Remove and discard ham hock.  Serve over rice and enjoy, cher!

Note:  To thicken, use the back of a wooden spoon to smash several beans against the side of the pot.

Tater Salad

I saw this awesome potato salad recipe on Racheal Ray's 30-minute meals a couple of years ago and decided to give it a shot.  After slightly tweaking the ingredient list, it is now one of my favorite side dishes when I'm craving something hot and spicy.

The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp. of ground fennel.  Fennel tastes like black licorice.  So.... as you are reading about the deliciousness below, try imagining the same salad with some diced black Twizzlers in the mix.  Yucky!

Potato Salad Fra Diavolo
Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lb. baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved 
• 1 tbsp. smoked sweet paprika
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. grill seasoning or coarse salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp. grainy mustard
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped 
• 1 fresh jalapeno, diced (optional)

Directions 

1. Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes or until tender. 
2. While potatoes are cooking, combine the spices, mustard, and vinegar in a large bowl. Whisk in the olive oil.
3. Stir celery, onion, and jalapeno into the bowl.
4. Drain potatoes and toss them with the dressing while they are still hot.

Healthier Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my go-to recipes when I'm in a hurry or when I really don't feel like cooking.  My mom clipped the original recipe from a magazine in the early 90s and gave it to me a couple of years ago.  Surprisingly, I found that it is still on the Campbell's website and can be found here.

Campbell's No-Guilt Chicken Pot Pie

 

Ingredients:

• 1 can (10.75 oz.) Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 pkg. (about 9 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables (I sometimes add more)
• 1 cup cubed cooked chicken
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Reduced Fat Bisquick

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  In a 9" pie plate mix soup, veggies, chicken, salt, and pepper.
2. In a small bowl mix milk, egg, and Bisquick.  Pour over chicken mixture and spread evenly.
3. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.  (Note:  You might want to put a baking sheet underneath the pie to catch any spill overs.)  Serves 4

Nom nom nom

According to my handy dandy Lose-It app, one serving has only 276 calories and 6.3 grams of fat!  Okay, gotta sign off and watch the rest of the drama-filled group round on Idol!