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Having grown up in southern Texas, I am a HUGE fan of Cajun food. Actually, it's probably safe to say that, as a Southerner, I am a huge fan of FOOD, period. Here are two recipes that I've tried for Beans and Rice. We tried the Emeril recipe about two years ago. We tried the slow cooker one tonight to try out my fancy shmancy slow cooker I got from Hubby's folks for Christmas. :-) I'll admit that I think the Emeril Lagasse recipe is superior, but I also think it's a righteous pain in the neck to make, hence the reason we haven't had beans and rice for two years. Hubby and I agreed that the slow cooker recipe had a very similar taste, but the texture seemed off a little. I can only assume that's because you don't mash the beans with the slow cooker recipe, but I can't seem to find a way around that... If you have any ideas or if you have a really good beans and rice recipe, send it to me at TreehuggingDoglover@gmail.com. :-)

Emeril's take on Beans and Rice:
1 lb dried red beans, rinsed and sorted
3 T bacon grease
1/4 c chopped tasso, or chopped ham (we couldn't find tasso ham, so used regular)
1 1/2 c chopped yellow onion
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped green pepper
1/2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne (I probably used 2 pinches) ;-)
3 bay leaves
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 t fresh thyme
1/2 lb smoked sausage, split in half lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb smoked ham hocks
3 T chopped garlic
10 c chicken stock or water
4 c cooked white rice (we used brown rice)
Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside. In a large pot, heat the bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add the tasso (or ham) and cook, stirring, for 1 min. Add the onions, celery, and green pepper to the grease in the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cayenne; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 mins. Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, sausage and ham hocks, and cook, stirring, to brown the sausage and ham hocks, about 4 mins. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and stock or water, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2 hours. Remove from the heat and, with the back of a heavy spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. Continue to cook until the beans are tender and creamy, about 15 to 20 mins. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves and ham hocks. Server over rice.

Slow Cooker recipe:
Put the following in a slow cooker for 6.5 hours on low heat:
6 c water
2 c beans
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 1/2 c chopped green pepper
1 1/2 c chopped celery
2 t dried thyme
2 t paprika
1 1/2 lb smoked sausage, quarted and then cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 bay leaves
2 T dried minced garlic
1 t salt

When slow cooker is done, serve mixture over brown rice.





Seriously, both tasted great. The texture was a little more divine on Emeril's recipe, but I don't know if it was worth the hassle. Give 'em a shot and let me know what you think!