Monday's Main Dish!

Morning! Below is a classic New Orleans dish that is sure to knock your socks off! It was sent in by Erin Haines and is a family recipe straight from The Big Easy!

Classic Nawlins style Red Beans and Rice by Diane Trest (Erin's mom)
My mom tells me the story that Red Beans and Rice were cooked all day on Mondays while the laundry was drying on the line or something like that, back in the day in New Orleans. So its tradition to eat Red Beans on Mondays.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. kidney beans (Mom swears by Camellia, but sometimes they are hard to find)
1 ham bone (We get ours at Honey Baked Ham for like $7)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red pepper (or 1 teaspoon-ish of dried)
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons of Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning (you can find this in the spice aisle)
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
2 Tablespoons of Parsley
1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 turns of the knob of McCormick Garlic Pepper Seasoning
dash of Tabasco
1 lb. of Turkey Kelbasa Sausage
Directions:
Day 1 -The night before take the beans and soak overnight in cold water. Make sure the bowl is a lot larger so the beans can expand during the night.
Day 2 - Drain the soaked beans in a colander. Take a handful at a time and pick out the gravel and dirt particles. Rinse the beans and put them along with ALL (except the sausage) other ingredients into a heavy 8-10 quart pot. Add enough water to cover the beans and spices. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then lower and let simmer on low heat for 2.5-3.5 hours (or until the beans are tender and a thick natural gravy has formed). During cooking, stir frequently (3-4 times each hour) and scape the sides and across the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching.
As the beans soften, mash some against the side of the pot or between two spoons. The result will be a thick creamy sauce. If the mixture appears to dry or be too thick, add 1 cup of water.
*Approximately 2 hours into cooking time remove the ham bone. If you leave it too long it will break apart and ham bits will be floating in your red beans. Its mainly there just to add flavor.
* About half an hour before the beans are finished add the sliced sausage (we usually cut our into little half moons to get more sausage) and reseason with 1 Tablespoon of Tony's and 1/2 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder.
Remove the Bay Leaves (good luck finding them!) and Serve over rice and enjoy!!

We hope everyone had a great weekend!
Cupcake Wishes and Cookie Dreams! :)