slow cooker – The Funky Oven

6 whole white mushrooms, diced

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced

3 ribs celery, sliced

2 large carrots, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup wild rice uncooked

10 cups water

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

4 teaspoons chicken bouillon

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups milk
Place the rice in the bottom of a crock pot. Add all of the diced vegetables. Then add the spices. Lastly add the water. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Add the chicken. Remove the bay leaf. Time to add the cream sauce.

In a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Add in the flour and stir until fully mixed. Slowly add the milk stirring constantly until all the milk is added. Continue to stir mixture constantly until thickened. Add this to the crock pot. Cook another 30-40 minutes. Serve.

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.