Slow cooker red beans and rice

This is Valerie Bertinelli’s recipe from Food Network. As I have said before I am not a big fan of crock pots. A few exceptions exist, but they don’t typically cook with flavor and textures that I like. This recipe is really good. I had a very busy day and had to find a slow cooker recipe. I think it more should be called sausage and red bean chili than authentic red beans and rice because it is lacking the usual Louisiana spices of thyme and such.

Here we go….

1 pound Andouilli sausage chopped

1 pound dried red beans

3 stalks of celery chopped

1 cup diced ham

1 medium onion chopped

1 large green bell pepper chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumen

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Salt and pepper

4 cups chicken broth

cooked white rice and sliced green onions

First I grilled the sausage on the propane grill at 400 for about 15-20 minutes.

Then i chopped the sausage and threw everything into the crockpot. It cooked on low. The recipe said 8 hours. No way! It was done in 4-5. It was 4 hours earlier than I planned so it was re-warmed for dinner. I did soak my beans for 4 hours and her recipe did not call for soaking. That is likely why mine cooked faster. She also did not recommend grilling the sausage first. I really enjoy the taste of the grilled sausage.