Red Beans & Rice

You know when you crave random things that you haven't had in forever but you didn't realize just how long it's been until you start craving it? That recently happened to me. My mom made red beans and rice all growing up and it is the only Creole food that I like (fun fact for you :) ). So a month or so ago, I finally got to emailing my mom for the recipe. I then got busy with my new job and kept forgetting to get the ingredients, there aren't a lot, and because the recipe was part of a conversation that I thought I didn't need anymore, brilliant me, deleted it. And I mean deleted it and emptied the trash. Yeah. So by the time I realized that I had to email her again, get it again, and I finally made it! It was just as good as my mom makes so I know I did a good job and my craving was completely satisfied. Also Greg loves Creole food but had never had red beans & rice so he was a bit tentative but ended up loving it! Woo-hoo! 10 points for me! So here is the recipe. It is great but can be a bit spicy so make sure you have the right amount of rice to go with it. Greg didn't realize that at first and did not have nearly as much rice as he needed. Needless to say it was pretty spicy so just remember that. Okay, now here it is!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cube of butter (1/4 c.)
• 1-2 c. cubed ham
• 1 can red beans (or kidney beans if you can't find red beans but red beans are the best texture, etc. for it)
• Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
• Long grain white rice, cooked according to directions

 Directions:

1. Saute chopped onion and bell pepper(s) in butter.
2. Add cubed ham to onion, bell pepper, and butter mixture.
3. Pour one can of beans (not drained, dump it all in) into the mixture.
4. Add the Creole seasoning to taste.
5. Heat and serve over rice.

 That's all. It was fast (I made it in a few minutes after work), easy and super delicious! It is a bit spicy but I'm not big fan of spicy but I love this.