Slow Cooker Red Beans and Wild Rice Stew

Makes 6 servings

1 cup dried kidney beans

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chicken bouillon granules

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp dried minced onion (or half cup chopped fresh onion)

1/4 cup freeze dried diced red bell pepper (or 1/2 cup fresh)

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

5 cups water

1 cup wild rice

1/2 tsp cajun spice

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

1 tsp salt

Red wine vinegar

1 lb ground sausage, browned and drained (if you like spicy sausage, use that)

1.  Rinse beans and soak them overnight in plenty of water.  They will more than double in size so make sure there is enough water covering them.

2.    Drain the beans and place in slow cooker.

3.  Add pepper, bouillon, garlic, garlic salt, bay leaf, onion, red bell pepper, liquid smoke, water, and rice into the slow cooker.  Stir to combine. 

4.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. 

5.  Add in the cajun spice, parsley flakes, salt, and sausage and stir.

6.  Add in red wine vinegar to taste.  (I added in probably about 1/4 cup, because I like it a lot!)

7.  Cover and cook on HIGH for another 30-60 minutes and serve.

Review:

I love food like this.  Unfortunately, husband does not.  So this was made when he was not home.  It was the perfect comfort food and I loved the addition of the sausage and vinegar at the end.  It was definitely not complete until I added those two items.  I was trying to make it meatless but it didn’t really work so I added in the sausage at the last minute.  It definitely gave it the extra flavor that was missing.  Don’t forget to soak your beans the night before…it’s worth it!  4 stars.

p.s.  This recipe looks like it has a million ingredients, but I literally have every ingredient for it in my house right now.  It’s very pantry friendly!