The final recipe of the series Budget Friendly Meals the Whole Family Will Love series is April’s Alabama Beans and Rice. This dish is so full of flavor that you can almost taste if from the front porch! The mixture of onions, peppers and celery smell heavenly as the meaty bean mixture bubbles away in your kitchen. Another alternative you could do with this recipe is prepare the recipe to step 6 below then place in a slow cooker for about 8 hours on low. I would reduce the water from 32 ounces to 16 ounces though or it might not thicken up and be too soupy. You could also prepare it the night before, cool it down and refrigerate it overnight and then place it in your slow cooker before heading out to work. Either way it will be delicious! If you put it in the slow cooker, the only thing you will have to do when you get home is cook some fluffy rice to serve under the beans. Hope you enjoy. And please try all three recipes, Smoked Sausage and Kale Soup, Stuffed Cabbage (Lahana Dolmasi), and April’s Alabama Red Beans and Rice, in this series and let me know what you think in the comments below. Afiyet olsun!
- 5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion
- ½ Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
- ½ Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
- ½ Orange Bell Pepper, Chopped
- 2 Stalks Celery, Chopped
- ½ Pound Ground Beef
- 1½ Cups Dried Kidney Beans
- 2 Teaspoons Cajun Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- Crushed Red Pepper to Taste Optional
- Water
- Begin by rinsing the beans and then covering with boiling salted water. Let soak for several hours or overnight.
- Drain the beans and then place into a large stock pot with about 32 ounces of water.
- Cook over medium heat until tender and the juice has thickened about 1 to 1½ hours.
- When the beans are almost done, saute the onion, peppers and celery in the olive oil until softened.
- Add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Stir in the Cajun seasoning and salt and pepper.
- Carefully pour the beef mixture into the bean mixture.
- Lower the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Serve with fluffy white rice. I like Jasmine! Afiyet olsun!
