Red Beans and Rice

I'm sitting here in our room, listening to Leslie sing my praises as she digs into a big plate of Red Beans and Rice.

It was a very easy dish to prepare. Very little time over the stove. Most of the hard work is in the preparation, and really, it's just cutting up the vegetables. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans red kidney beans, (15 ounces each)
• 3 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 small bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions, with tops
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 jar (2 oz) chopped pimiento
• 1 can (8 oz) tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 pound Polish sausage, sliced, if desired

PREPARATION:

Fry bacon and crumble into kidney beans. Saute vegetables in the bacon drippings. (if you're not using bacon, saute in olive oil) Cook until vegetables are wilted. Add beans and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over rice. Serves 4.

Now I cooked this without bacon, as Leslie likes to eat kosher. But you can make it as you see fit. Also, consider substituting spaghetti sauce for the paste. I like the sauce better because the recipe doesn’t have a lot of liquid in it and the beans can get a little dry.

Also, Leslie likes her food spicy, so I lay down layers of spice. In other words, I cover the mixture, while it's sauteing, in chili powder. Then I stir it in. Then I cover with a layer of ketchup, then stir it in. Sometimes I'll use a whole layer of salt, although I know it's bad for you. But Leslie loves salt, so what am I supposed to do?

Tonight was the first time I used my new Krups rice cooker. Pretty excellent cooker, but the manual was poorly written, so it took me a few reads before I understood how to use it. But all is well, the rice came out great.