Recipe of the "Week"

Cooler weather is on the horizon! Can't you feel Fall coming?! I LOVE Fall! Love, love, love, love! I get so excited when the weather starts to get crisp & leaves start changing colors. Shoot! I get excited just thinking about it! Tawny hued leaves floating through the air, the caw of crows, camping in the Smokies, sitting on the front porch with my dearly beloved without a rerun of "Attack of the Mosquitos". And suppers of warm, comforting foods like this. . .

Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

-3 cans Blue Runner Creole Cream Style red beans (you can use the dry beans as well, unless they hate you, too, & refuse to cook no matter how long you cook them & regardless of the fact that you follow "bean cooking" directions to a tee &. . .oooh. Take a deep breath. . .ahhhh. Sorry about that. Beans do that to me.)

-2 onions

-2 stalks celery

-1/2 bell pepper

-2 cloves garlic (or 1/2 tsp. dry minced garlic)

-smoked sausage (the more the better; I used 3 packages of turkey sausage & it was very meaty. Which = very good!)

-1 T Italian seasoning

Directions:

-Mince onions, celery, & bell pepper. Putting all 3 of these in the Cuisinart at once & pulsing several times works like a charm!

-Mix beans, vegetables, & seasonings in a large pot & simmer. Don't turn the heat up more than this, because the sausage takes a while to sauté, & you don't want the beans to get too soupy.

-Slice the sausage somewhat thinly (see the picture above to get an idea of the width). Of course, this is a personal preference. You may have heard me mention my aversion to big gobs of meat. Once.  Or twice.  Plus, the meat goes further when you have smaller slices.

-Sauté the sausage until both sides are the color & texture you desire. I like it to be brown bordering on black & slightly crispy. Again, it's a personal preference.

-Add the sausage to the beans & allow to simmer for 30 more minutes. Now's a good time to begin your rice.

-Serve over cooked rice with a side of cornbread or corn casserole.

Fall, here we come!!!