Monday Menu: Washday Beans and Rice

What am I freezing this week? Lots of soup and red beans and rice.

From JeffreyW’s archives

A great meal on the first cold days of fall, and perfect to use in the freezer cubes. I don’t make this recipe often, because it make enough to feed most of the neighborhood. With the freezer cubes, it makes it a nice dinner and eight additional servings for later.

Cornbread also freezes well and reheats either in a toaster oven or microwave.

This is a quick version of the all-day cooking method. For a more traditional version click here. Bonus, there is a photo of an original recipe from Louis Armstrong.

Washday Beans & Rice

1 cup rice
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
14oz can red kidney bean
4 links Italian or Andouille sausage (sweet or spicy) – slice each link into 4 pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp to 1 tbsp Cajun Creole Seasoning (start with teaspoon and work your way up to taste)
4 green onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large tomato diced (or 14 oz can)

2-quart saucepan and skillet

Combine rice with water & chicken broth in a saucepan, cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cook until all the liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes). Over medium-high, heat oil in skillet; add onions, celery, green pepper & sausage, cook until sausage is done in the center. Add sausage, beans, seasoning and tomatoes together into the saucepan. Keep the heat low and let cook 10 minutes to let flavors blend. You can add shredded, cooked pork to the beans if desired.

Cornbread

There are many variations on cornbread, this one is pretty basic.

1 cup flour
½ cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup butter or oil
1 large bowl

9×9 baking dish, greased

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, add cornmeal, mix well. Add eggs, milk and oil. Beat with mixer until smooth (do not over beat). Pour into baking dish and bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes. Light brown on top, toothpick should come out clean.