Red Beans and Rice

I love you once, I love you twice, I love you more than beans and rice. Red beans and rice is a dish commonly served on Monday in Louisiana on what was once typically wash day. It was a good dish to make on those days because even though it required a long time to cook, it needed little to no babysitting. I remember in college waiting for Monday to come around so that I could go in the "good" cafeteria at 4 PM and get a big 'ol plate of red beans and rice. If I was lucky, there were enough left over that they served it in the food court on Tuesday for lunch! In my family we serve this with lots of Tabasco and a wedge of cheddar cheese. I always made this recipe with Camilla brand kidney beans but it's not readily available in the Carolinas so I make do with the store brand.

Red Beans and Rice
Recipe from the back of Camilla kidney beans bag

1 lb red kidney beans
½ ham or seasoning meat (I use about a pound of smoked sausage)
8-10 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 toe garlic
2 Tbs. Celery, chopped
2 Tbs. Parsley, chopped
1 large bay leaf
Tony's and salt to taste

Traditional Method
Rinse and sort beans. Cover with water, start to cook over low fire in covered pan. Render meat and add to beans. In meat drippings sauté onion, garlic. Celery and parlsey, add this with bay leaf to beans and cook for 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours. Add water if necessary while cooking. 15 minutes before done mash 4 to 5 tablespoons of beans through strainer, stirring into liquid. This makes the liquid creamy. Serve over fluffy rice with hot French bread.

Crockpot Method
Rinse and sort beans. Cover with 2 inches of water and soak overnight. Except for the bay leaf, chop up the remaining ingredients the night before and throw it in the fridge. The next day, drain the beans. Place half the beans in the crock pot and top with half of the chopped ingredients mixture. Sprinkle a layer of Tony's seasoning. Top with the remaining beans, then chopped ingredients and another layer of Tony's. Throw that bay leaf in there. Cover the beans with about 2 or 3 inches of water. Set the crockpot on low all day. When you get home from a hard day of work, mash some of the beans and stir it all up again. Let it cook for little bit and then serve over rice with hot sauce and a wedge of cheese!