This is a simple, quick, go-to recipe of ours. Be sure to turn on the rice cooker before you start chopping up the onions and peppers. You can dice the onions and peppers as finely as you wish but I like them chopped fairly coarse, like a 1/2″ chop. This is a good dish to use up bell peppers that have been sitting a little too long in the refrigerator and it uses some basic pantry staples that I try to keep around in case I need something quick. Tonight I served it with a simple tossed salad with lettuce from the garden and homemade Italian salad dressing – the recipe in the good old, red and white Betty Crocker classic cookbook.
Red Beans and Rice
1 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce (no salt added if you can find it)
1/2 – 1 cup water
hot sauce to taste
2-15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Cooked rice – we prefer white rice with this meal
Sour cream
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, garlic and peppers. Cook until the onions are getting soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and paprika and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in beans and tomato sauce. Stir in enough water to make the sauce liquid enough to simmer the beans in; start with about a half cup. Add the hot sauce (if desired) and simmer about 10 minutes. Serve over rice with a dollop of sour cream.
Beyond Rice and Tofu 