Easy Gluten Free Red Beans and Rice

Do you ever have one of those nights when something sounds good for dinner but you just can't put your finger on what it is so you can figure out how to make it? That happens around here a lot. Sometimes my poor family is just sitting around waiting for me to make a decision about what the heck we are going to eat and they grab a bag of chips and settle in, waiting for me to talk to my stomach long enough to start cooking. One night, I was under the gun because we had parent teacher conferences, I had put rice into the rice cooker and had no clue what to put with it. I couldn't really find anything I already had in my cookbooks at home, so I perused the internet for a while and actually found something really delicious and fast on some recipe website which I swear has disappeared from civilization. I hate it when I forget to write down a source! So someone out there created a great recipe and it is super easy and tasty. It's a quick and easy version of Red Beans and Rice you can make in about 15 minutes.

I have loved Red Beans and Rice since I was in college and my boyfriend's roomate's girlfriend (did you follow that? I should have just said a nice girl from Louisiana) made me some authentic, cook-all-day down south Red Beans and Rice. It's so nice to make things that cook all day, but this is a great alternative when it sounds good and you just run out of time.

The sad thing is, I got the dinner all made, rice was ready, beans were ready, and we had to walk out the door to the school so we wouldn't be late. So I simply put the beans and sausage in my little crock pot to keep them warm while we were gone for an hour or so and we ate when we got home. No biggie. I'm always trying to cook as much from scratch as I can, because I believe people should know how to make stuff without small appliances in case they break. But they sure come in handy in a pinch. Oh, what could the pioneers have done with their lives if they'd had rice cookers? Invented the internet, that's what. So here's the recipe as I made it:

Gluten Free Red Beans and Rice

1 T butter

1/2 minced onion

2 cloves garlic
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 kielbasa sausage, sliced into medallions

1 can light red kidney beans, drained

1/2 tsp each of:

paprika

chili powder

cumin

Pinch (seriously, one small pinch) of red pepper flakes for heat

Melt the butter in a large frypan. Add the onion and saute until soft, 2-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, sausage, beans, and spices and simmer until reduced down. Can also put into the crock pot and cook for 1-2 hours on low to keep warm until you can eat them. Serve over white rice.

Happy eating!