Dirty Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage

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My husband always tells me that he can live off of beans and rice alone – that I don’t have to add any variety to the meals that I make.

So every now and then I appease him with this wish… But mix it up a bit to gratify my curiosity of recipe improvisation. ;)

Today’s recipe is a twist on dirty beans and rice – I mixed a bit of quinoa into the rice for color, texture and nuttiness.

 Dirty Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage

No need to follow this recipe to a T (except when cooking the rice/quinoa). Feel free to add your own spices, some shrimp, more veggies – whatever you like!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown or white rice
  • 1 cup tri-colored quinoa
  • 24 oz. andouille
  • 1-2 TBS olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
  • 4 ribs celery, diced
  • 2 medium green bell peppers, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 2-4 tsp ground cumin (to your taste)
  • 2 TBS chipotles in adobe (pureed)
  • 4 TBS tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced for serving
  • salt and pepper, to taste

1. Start the rice in a small saucepan. 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. With the lid on the whole time, bring to a boil and turn heat down to a simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave lid on for another 5 minutes. (If you’re like me and struggle to make rice, Watch this video.)
2. While rice is cooking, brown while andouille in a hot pan until all sides are brown. Set aside to cool a bit before you slice it.
3. Set aside the cooked rice and then start the quinoa. 1 cup of quinoa to 1 cup of water. With the lid on the whole time, bring to a boil and turn heat down to a simmer for 12 minutes. Turn off heat and leave lid on for another 5 minutes.
4. Add a little oil to a large preheated pot and saute the onions until they are tender – about 8-10 minutes. Add a little water if they brown too much (otherwise they will burn). Then add the celery and bell peppers and brown for another 3-5 minutes before adding the garlic and spices.
5. Mix the tomato paste and chipotle together with the broth and add to the veggies in the pot; let simmer for 3-5 minutes until peppers begin to soften
6. Cut the andouille diagonally and add to the large saucepan. Fold in the tomatoes. Simmer everything for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors mingle and so the tomatoes soften.
7. Mix in the rice and quinoa (if you have extra  – you can freeze in quart bags and use on the fly if needed).
8. Season dish to taste with salt and pepper.
9. This dish is great on its own – or you can pair it with a nice salad. Would also make an excellent potluck dish!

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