I'm fairly good at cooking, but that doesn't mean I like to spend hours and hours making something that's going to get eaten up after a single meal. So, here's an easy beans and rice recipie that makes a good volume of food, is hard to screw up, and lasts a while. I give you:
Red Beans and Rice
(Makes ~6 servings the way I eat it)
Total cooking time: 6-8 hours maintenance-free prep, plus another hour and 20 minutes for actual prep and cooking (during which you can really be doing other things. I watched the new Doctor who episode and surfed the forums)
Cost Estimate: Um... Not expensive as long as you use cayenne for more than just this. Most expensive thing you buy should be the sausage/cocktail franks.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb dried kidney beans
1 medium to large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons (tsp) salt
cayenne pepper to taste, say about 4 teaspoons (3 if you don't like it hot, more than 4 if you are insane)
1 lb smoked sausage or cocktail franks
Water
Also, steamed rice (serving size to preference)
EQUIPMENT
multi-gallon pot with lid
Stirring spoon
measuring spoons
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board or facsimile (not pictured because I was washing it at the time, okay?)
Optional: Rice steamer
First off let me stress that prepping dried beans takes a while-- you have to plan to start this stuff six to eight hours in advance so the beans are ready to go when you want them to be. You can quick-prep them in a few hours if you add a bunch of water and boil them but this way works best.
Step 1, in which Flakbait prepares his beans
Time Taken: ~6-8 hours
wash the beans with water. Put them in the pan you're going to use (or in some random container, like above), fill it mostly with water, slosh them around, drain. Repeat until the water's mostly clear, then fill it up until the water covers the beans by about two inches or more. Cover it, put the pot out of the way...
...and let it sit for six to eight hours. I personally wash the beans right when I get up in the morning and then just let them soak all day while I'm at class/work/whatever.
Step 2, in which our hero plays with knives (six to eight hours later)
Time taken: ~5 minutes
Drain the beans again, and leave/put them in the pot. Chop the onion. It goes in the pot too. Dice the garlic cloves (chop them into little, little bits), then put 'em in the pot.
Finally, in goes the 2 tsp salt, the bay leaf, and the cayenne pepper. I generally put in about 4 tsp of cayenne, but that's my preference. Note that if you put in less than 3 tsp, your tastebuds might be broken. Do NOT put in the sausage yet
Step 3, in which things really start cooking
Time taken: ~45 minutes
Fill the pot with water, enough to cover everything with an inch to two inches of water (as in, 1-2 inches above the top of the beans and other crap). An inch is the minimum-- below that Bad Things Happen (dehydration of beans, burning, disaster, and ruin). The more water you put in, the more soupy things become (although you can of course cook it longer and boil off water if you decide you want a thicker sauce).
Fire up your burners and heat the water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally (don't forget to recover the pot after stirring!), for ~ 45 minutes. If you forget to stir or the heat is too high, you will eventually burn the beans on the bottom, as you may not have enough water in there for it to self-mix due to convection curren- er, just make sure to stir it. Reduce heat as necessary to keep it from boiling too vigorously.
Step 4, where I can't think of anything remotely witty to say but we add the sausage
Time Taken: ~30 minutes
Things should be coming along nicely now and the beans should be getting soft.
Now, add the sausage, stir it in...
...and continue simmering for another 30 minutes. Again, keep stirring and recovering the pot when you aren't stirring. You can also use something like ham hocks, but I find grabbing a package of little smokies to be generally easier to do. It's during Step 4 that I cook my rice, although that varies if you're using minute rice or something instead. I would highly recommend getting a rice steamer, becuase hey-- it's so convenient. It's like a toaster that works for any meal of the day.
Step 5, In which the deed is done and a final warning is dispensed
Okay, you're done. Cover a plate with rice, and ladle the beans over the top. Mmm, mmm good.
As a final warning, make sure you fish out the bay leaf so someone doesn't end up eating it. Bay leaves may lend a tasty flavor to your food, but aren't so good when eaten directly. Blech.
Enjoy!
Red Beans and Rice
(Makes ~6 servings the way I eat it)
Total cooking time: 6-8 hours maintenance-free prep, plus another hour and 20 minutes for actual prep and cooking (during which you can really be doing other things. I watched the new Doctor who episode and surfed the forums)
Cost Estimate: Um... Not expensive as long as you use cayenne for more than just this. Most expensive thing you buy should be the sausage/cocktail franks.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb dried kidney beans
1 medium to large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons (tsp) salt
cayenne pepper to taste, say about 4 teaspoons (3 if you don't like it hot, more than 4 if you are insane)
1 lb smoked sausage or cocktail franks
Water
Also, steamed rice (serving size to preference)
EQUIPMENT
multi-gallon pot with lid
Stirring spoon
measuring spoons
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board or facsimile (not pictured because I was washing it at the time, okay?)
Optional: Rice steamer
First off let me stress that prepping dried beans takes a while-- you have to plan to start this stuff six to eight hours in advance so the beans are ready to go when you want them to be. You can quick-prep them in a few hours if you add a bunch of water and boil them but this way works best.
Step 1, in which Flakbait prepares his beans
Time Taken: ~6-8 hours
wash the beans with water. Put them in the pan you're going to use (or in some random container, like above), fill it mostly with water, slosh them around, drain. Repeat until the water's mostly clear, then fill it up until the water covers the beans by about two inches or more. Cover it, put the pot out of the way...
...and let it sit for six to eight hours. I personally wash the beans right when I get up in the morning and then just let them soak all day while I'm at class/work/whatever.
Step 2, in which our hero plays with knives (six to eight hours later)
Time taken: ~5 minutes
Drain the beans again, and leave/put them in the pot. Chop the onion. It goes in the pot too. Dice the garlic cloves (chop them into little, little bits), then put 'em in the pot.
Finally, in goes the 2 tsp salt, the bay leaf, and the cayenne pepper. I generally put in about 4 tsp of cayenne, but that's my preference. Note that if you put in less than 3 tsp, your tastebuds might be broken. Do NOT put in the sausage yet
Step 3, in which things really start cooking
Time taken: ~45 minutes
Fill the pot with water, enough to cover everything with an inch to two inches of water (as in, 1-2 inches above the top of the beans and other crap). An inch is the minimum-- below that Bad Things Happen (dehydration of beans, burning, disaster, and ruin). The more water you put in, the more soupy things become (although you can of course cook it longer and boil off water if you decide you want a thicker sauce).
Fire up your burners and heat the water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally (don't forget to recover the pot after stirring!), for ~ 45 minutes. If you forget to stir or the heat is too high, you will eventually burn the beans on the bottom, as you may not have enough water in there for it to self-mix due to convection curren- er, just make sure to stir it. Reduce heat as necessary to keep it from boiling too vigorously.
Step 4, where I can't think of anything remotely witty to say but we add the sausage
Time Taken: ~30 minutes
Things should be coming along nicely now and the beans should be getting soft.
Now, add the sausage, stir it in...
...and continue simmering for another 30 minutes. Again, keep stirring and recovering the pot when you aren't stirring. You can also use something like ham hocks, but I find grabbing a package of little smokies to be generally easier to do. It's during Step 4 that I cook my rice, although that varies if you're using minute rice or something instead. I would highly recommend getting a rice steamer, becuase hey-- it's so convenient. It's like a toaster that works for any meal of the day.
Step 5, In which the deed is done and a final warning is dispensed
Okay, you're done. Cover a plate with rice, and ladle the beans over the top. Mmm, mmm good.
As a final warning, make sure you fish out the bay leaf so someone doesn't end up eating it. Bay leaves may lend a tasty flavor to your food, but aren't so good when eaten directly. Blech.
Enjoy!