Friday, June 19, 2020

An Almost Day Off from Cooking


Sometimes I can’t face making a complicated dinner.  During these past few months of stress, I have turned more and more to beans.  My food storage area is well stocked with cans of just about every kind of bean available. 

If I’m feeding more than 4 people, Black Bean Lasagna is often my dish of choice.  It’s easy to make, it’s vegetarian and I usually have the ingredients on hand. 

Now, though, I have found something even easier: Pinto Bean and Sausage Stew.  I discovered pinto beans when I was searching depleted shelves at the grocery store.  All the black beans had been snatched up, but cans of these tan beans were still sitting there.  I bought one to try, and here is the end result.  Skip the sausage if you want a vegetarian meal. 

Pinto Bean and Sausage Stew – serves 4

1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
2 fully cooked sausages, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (see note below)
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper (or more if you like really spicy food)
1 cup cooked rice
Hot sauce (optional)

Begin heating a medium pot over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage slices, bell pepper, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables have softened.

Add the beans, water or broth, thyme, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 25 minutes.  Stir in the cooked rice and heat until the mixture is hot.  Serve with hot sauce, if using.

Note: I like Aidells cooked chicken sausages with such flavors as Chicken and Apple, Habanero and Green Chili or Mango.

         For more recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

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