Red Beans and Rice

Sometimes meals just don't turn out well. It's disappointing, sure, but it's not the end of the world.

Yet that scenario was what we faced just a couple of days ago when we made Red Beans and Rice from the Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook.

Simply combine water, red kidney beans, onion, green pepper, celery, thyme, paprika, ground red pepper, turkey sausage, bay leaf and garlic in a slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours.

Before serving, prepare rice according to package directions and serve red beans and sausage mixture on top. Garnish with some green onions (which we forgot to purchase).


It would be easier to start by saying what wasn't wrong with it: the rice. The slow cooker should have been on low; on high, everything was overcooked and the color contrast was completely lost. Frankly, it tasted bland, too. And Melissa said the heat from the paprika and red ground pepper was too much; I didn't mind it, but I wouldn't complain with just a bit less, either.

If we were to make this again (and assuming we would make it in the slow cooker), we would set it to low and pull back on the spiciness just a tad. But I think it might just be wiser to try a more conventional cooking method for this Cajun classic.