Feb 16: Red Beans and Rice

In New Orleans, it must be Monday if you're eating Red beans and rice. For some reason, Monday was washday. A meal had to be made with minimal effort and minimal supervision which turned out to be a pot of red beans. The beans also incorporated the leftover meats from Sunday dinner.

Over the years, the red beans has become a creamy, ham-flavored dish.

Here's a slow cooker version of red beans...

Red Beans - Slow Cooker

1 lb Red Beans, soaked overnight
1 Onion
1 Bell Pepper
2 Stalk Bell Pepper
2 Bay Leaves
1 Ham Hock
6 ounces Ham Steak
4 C Water (I used 2 C stock and 2 C water)

Initially, started with 1/2 bell pepper, ham hock, onion, celery and bay leaves.


A the last second, I wanted to up the ham factor. Also, I went ahead and just added the rest of the bell pepper.

Turn on low and cook for 8 to 9 hours.


After cooking, the onion, bell pepper and celery was discarded. The ham was chopped and any worthy meat was picked off the ham hock and chopped.

Before serving add the ham back into the beans.... slightly mash some of the beans to increase the creaminess.

The final dish...
Red beans and rice.
Typically served with smoked sausage.


Overall a good dish. I prefer a stronger ham flavor so I should have added more ham or ham hock and less bell pepper.