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Unspicy Red Beans and Rice


COLD! Cold, cold, cold. The low as the cool front came through last night was supposed to be in the mid 50s. Instead in dropped to low 40s with a wind howling rating of 25-30 mph. And guess where the winter gear was? In storage, of course. Needing a warm up from the toes up Louisiana Style Red Beans and Rice was the hot ticket. An all day for warm toast red beans and rice, not the stuff from the can.

Modifications Made:
Beans were not soaked overnight. Not really understanding the need for fresh onion and garlic and powdered onion and garlic.  Therefore only fresh was used.  Meat was browned into large bits, beans and all other ingredients were added and allowed to cook until beans were tender.  Water and seasonings were adjusted as needed.  A splash of tabasco sauce was added when beans were just about done. Since the beans were cooked low and slow, smashing of the beans to make a thick consistency was really not needed.

Scaled for Likability:
The splash of vinegar based hot sauce added a nice tang to the pot of unspicy red beans.  But it is better to have not spicy beans than beans too spicy to eat.  Eating with a running nose is not my idea of fun dinners.  For a simple and easy to follow red beans and rice recipe this was a great starting point.  However, the lack of a good strong, dark rue is a major element to Cajun food and this depth was clearly missing.  Would I eat these again, absolutely.  Are they real, not like what we are used to eating at the local Cajun restaurants.
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