husband's in the kitchen

Actually, Mark is an outstanding cook, made even better over the last year as he was a stay at home dad aka "house husband."

This dish has been in my family for generations. We make it all the time, because it tastes good, duh. But also because it can go in the slow cooker and make the house smell so damn good all day long. That's the only drawback if you're not in school/work all day-you have to smell it's deliciousness and practically take out the cabinets finding a plate when it's finally time for dinner.

With that being said, here's the recipe.

Red Beans & Rice:

what you'll need:
-1 lb pkg dried red beans
-water (easy 'nuff)
-salt pork, ham hocks or sausage, cut into small chunks
-2 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-3-4 cups water (didn't I just say this?)
-6oz can tomato paste
-8oz can tomato sauce
-4 garlic cloves, minced (the jar of minced garlic works just fine-Hain tested :)

what you'll do:
1. Soak beans for 8 hours.
(We do this the night before, just put beans in a covered dish with water that is 1-2 inches higher than the beans)
2. Mix together all ingredients in slow cooker (morning of).
3. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours or until beans are soft and sauce is thick. Serve over rice. (White rice works best. Take a chill pill all you whole grain people-it won't kill you. Do you know how many people die from white rice a year? Like one, maybe. I don't know the statistics, but ridiculously low).

other quick option:
Using canned red kidney beans. Cook 1 hour on high, then 3 hours on low.

Calorie count: makes 8 cups. 375 for 1 cup red beans mixture with 3/4 cup cooked rice-and that's filling!
Gluten 0 (check your sausage to make sure it is gluten free-wow 5th graders, that was hilarious)

This is also a very filling meal. And it makes for a ton of left overs. You can freeze them as well for another week.

You have to use this...not even an option.