Red Beans & Rice

One of the greatest feelings in life is walking in the door after a long day at work and knowing that dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. I'm not talking a sandwich or leftovers from the night before, I'm talking a slow-simmered, all day long cooking meal. Man, I love my Crock-pot. Especially when it is loaded down with red beans that have been simmering with smoked sausage and a ham hock.

Smoky Sausage and Bean Chili

The third installment of my chili series is a chili that combines flavors from multiple cuisines. This chili also represents the area of Texas along the Gulf Coast between Houston and the Louisiana border. It is a slow cooked chili that simmers all day, then is finished in the amount of time it takes to cook a couple cups of rice.

The area along the coast of Texas is a huge melting pot of cultures. Many people moved to this area of Texas when oil was found. As a result, numerous influences can be seen in this part of the country, especially in the cuisine. While there is definitely a strong Mexican heritage in this area, there are also influences from Cajun, French, southern, and Eastern European cuisines.

This chili draws from the Mexican, Cajun, and Eastern European cuisines (specifically Polish, Houston has the 13th largest Polish population in the United States). The base flavoring of the chili is onions, cumin, oregano, and chilies, but the traditional beef is replaced by two kinds of sausages, Polska kielbasa and andouille sausage. These ingredients are combined with beans and slow simmered until everything is tender and the flavors come together. The chili is fairly spicy due to the use of the chili powder, chipotle peppers, and andouille, especially if you use hot andouille like I did, but the heat is cut by topping the chili with rice, a la gumbo style.

The end result is a spicy, hearty meal perfect for week 3 of the NFL season.


Smoky Sausage and Bean Chili

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large white onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
14 oz polska kielbasa, sliced
14 oz andouille sausage, sliced
1 lb navy beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Cooked rice
Green onion, for garnish

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and red pepper until softened, about six minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds more.  Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Cook one minute, or until fragrant. Transfer to slow cooker.

In same skillet, saute kielbasa and andouille until lightly browned and heated through. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add beans, chicken broth, soy sauce, liquid smoke seasoning, and chipotle to slow cooker. Stir to mix well.

Cover and cook on high for two hours. Reduce heat to low and cook for six hours longer (or leave on high and cook a total of five hours), stirring every two hours. Thirty minutes before serving, stir in tomato paste to thicken. Serve with rice.

Next Week:  Cincinnati Chili

Beef Pot Roast

On a cold and blustery day in Nebraska, there is nothing better that coming home to a dinner that is almost ready.  Especially when there are still places to go and dinner needs to be on the table as quickly as possible.  Beef pot roast is the perfect meal for nights like this.  Once the beef is cooked, the finishing touches take only about 10 minutes and the meal is ready to go.  Just add a hearty loaf of bread to soak up the gravy and you have a meal that will satisfy the biggest hunger.

Beef roasts are perfectly suited for the crockpot.  The slow, moist cooking method ensures the beef will become very tender.  Even the toughest cuts of beef can be used for this meal.  I prefer a chuck roast, but any roast will work.  The key to tenderizing the beef is to cook it long and low.  I usually cook mine on the low setting for at least 12 hours (sometimes as long as 16).  This process breaks down the connective tissue in the meat, resulting in a very tender roast that will fall apart due to its tenderness.

Root vegetables are ideal for this dish because they can stand up to the long cooking times.  Potatoes and carrots, the usual accompaniments for pot roast, cook in the same liquid as the beef, allowing them to absorb the flavors of the meat.  On this instance, I added some parsnips that were in my refrigerator.  At the end of 12 hours of cooking time, the vegetables were very tender but still held their shape.


Beef Pot Roast

3-4 lb beef roast
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes
1 lb baby carrots
4 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 envelope powdered onion soup mix
1 cup water
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
Salt and pepper. to taste

Spray inside of crockpot with nonstick cooking spray.  Toss potatoes, carrots, and parsnips and place in bottom of crockpot.  Heat oil over medium-high heat in large skillet.  Brown roast on all sides.  Transfer roast to crockpot.  Sprinkle soup mix over top of roast and pour water over top.  Place lid on crockpot and set on high for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and cook for at least 12 hours (no more than 16 or the vegetables will be very mushy).

When beef is finished cooking, remove roast and vegetables from cooking liquid.  Skim as much fat from cooking liquid as possible and discard.  If necessary, add enough beef broth to make 1-1/2 cups liquid.  In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and cook 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in cooking liquid.  Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Slice roast and serve with vegetables and gravy.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup

My sister posted a soup recipe a couple weeks ago on her blog for Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup (you can find her original post here).  I decided to try it (with a couple modifications) on my family.  This soup seemed like it would be good for us because we like thicker soups, rather than ones with just a broth base.  This soup came out nice and thick and had a really good flavor.  I decreased the amount of milk from the original dish, but increased the amount of broth to keep the overall liquid the same.  I also added a finely minced chipotle pepper for a bit of smoky flavor and heat.


Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1 chipotle pepper, seeded and minced fine
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1-1/2 lbs chicken breast or tenderloins
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 cups milk
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 can enchilada sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes.  Add  1 cup chicken broth and stir until no lumps remain.  Pour in milk and heat until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in enchilada sauce.  Set aside.





Place onion, green pepper, beans, corn, chipotle pepper, and tomatoes in crockpot and mix together.  Lay chicken over top of vegetables.  Pour remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth over top of chicken.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4.  Remove chicken from soup and shred.  Return chicken to soup and season soup to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.