Creole Dirty Rice with Sausage & Red Beans

serves 6.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup brown rice

7oz smoked lean andouille sausage

olive oil cooking spray

1 medium yellow onion, dices

1 green bell pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

8oz dried red beans, soaked overnight in water in a covered pot

1 bay leaf

2 tomatoes, preferably Roma, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

4 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. cook brown rice according to package directions. Remove from heat & set aside.

2. In medium pot, cover sausage with about 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

3. Heat a large pot on medium high. Mist with cooking oil spray- add onion, green pepper and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or until cooked through.

4. Drain saoked beans and rinse with cold water. Add beans, bay leaf and 3 cups water to pot with vegetables. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 20 minutes before reducing the heat to medium-low.

5. Cook until beans are soft, stirring occasionally and adding more water as it evaporates, about 2 hours.

- When beans are cooke through and water has reduced to less than 1 cup, add tomatoes and cook for at least 15 more minutes.

6. Remove bay leaf, stir in Cajun seasoning, cooked rice and sausage- cook for about 10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, garnsih wtih cilantro.

TIP: Feel free to go wtih canned beans instead, just remember to drain and rinse them first. You'll only need to warm them for 5-10 minutes instead of cooking them for 2 hours. And, you can reduce the water from 3 cups to 1/2 c.

NUTRITION per 1-cup serving:

Calories 292, Total Fat 2g, Carbs 53g, Fiber 4g, Sugars 4g, Protein 15g, Sodium 427 mg

From "The Best of Clean Eating 2" Cookbook, p. 126