Today we’re celebrating Fat Tuesday #SundaySupper style. There were a couple of different ways I could have gone with this. One was to make something absolutely decadent and sinful and the other was to pay homage to the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration with Cajun or Creole inspired food. Since I’m sharing my recipe for red beans and rice it’s pretty obvious which way I decided. Beans and rice is one of my favorite foods and I usually eat it more Tex-mex style but I loved this recipe for red beans and rice. Red beans are slowly simmered for a couple of hours with a ham bone or ham hock. Then chopped garlic, onion, and bell peppers are added along with sliced smoked sausage and the pot is cooked for another hour or so until the beans are perfectly tender and a gravy is formed. 
Just a couple of notes: you may notice that this recipe takes five hours. I would say maybe 30 minutes of that is hands on time. Just make sure you check the water levels about once an hour or so. Another thing I always do the quick soak from the package with red beans but with one change. Instead of boiling for two minutes, I boil them for ten minutes. RED BEANS AND RICE #SUNDAYSUPPER
1 hr, 30 Prep Time
3 hr, 30 Cook Time
5 hrTotal Time 
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried small red beans
- 1 ham hock or the bone left over from a ham
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped bell pepper
- 1 pound smoked sausage, split down the middle and sliced into half moon shapes.
- Hot cooked rice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Water
- Hot sauce- optional.
Instructions
- Sort through the beans to remove any debris that might be in the bag. Place in a large pot, at least 4 quarts, and add enough hot water to cover by about one inch.
- Place on medium high heat and bring to a boil and boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat and let the pot sit for an hour. Drain and set aside.
- Place soaked beans in a heavy Dutch oven or stock pot with lid.
- Add the ham hock a pinch of salt, and bay leaf. Add water until the beans are covered by one to two inches.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for one to two hours or until the beans are softening.
- Remove bay leaf. Add in the garlic, onion, bell peppers, and sliced sausage. Cook for another hour to ninety minutes or until the beans are very tender and a thickened gravy has formed.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if needed
- Serve over hot cooked rice with hot sauce if desired.