Shortcut Red Beans & Rice

Traditional red beans and rice are made with dry red beans, slow simmered in either the oven or a crockpot. While I would have loved to create this dish from uncooked beans, I hadn't thought about this dinner soon enough so I used canned kidney beans and got a meal just as flavorful and filling.

Tender kidney beans and the traditional southern holy trinity: onions, green bells and celery simmered with smokey herbs and spices, hot sauce and portobello mushrooms over fluffy rice.

One Year Ago Today Holiday Master Cleanse

Red Beans & Rice
serves 4
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, small dice
1 green bell pepper, medium dice
1 celery stalk, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 portobello, gills removed, small dice
1 tbl creole seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 bay leaf
2-15oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbl vegan worcestershire
2-3 tsp green hot sauce, such as tobasco, to taste
cooked white or brown rice, to serve
2 tbl minced chives

In a pot or dutch oven, saute the onion, bell pepper and celery in olive oil until tender and lightly caramelized, 7 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook 7 more minutes to brown the mushrooms. Add the creole spice, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, liquid smoke and bay leaf. Saute for 2-3 minutes to toast.
Add the beans, broth, worcestershire and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, remove the lid and cook 15-20 minutes more until the broth has been absorbed and the beans are thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve the beans and rice with chives and hot sauce on the side.

Sweet & Sour Seitan with Caramelized Cabbage & Jasmine Rice

Seitan slow simmered in sweet apricot preserves, pineapple and sour apple cider vinegar on top of caramelized cabbage and fluffy jasmine rice.

Sweet & Sour Seitan
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
10 oz seitan
1 cup ketchup
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tbl apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
jasmine rice for 2

Sear the seitan in olive oil over medium-high heat until golden brown, 7 minutes. Add the ketchup, pineapple, apricot and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over fluffy rice.

Caramelized Cabbage
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 green cabbage, cored, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbl apple cider vinegar
2 cups vegetable broth, divided

Heat the oil and add the onion and cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 15 minutes until the cabbage has slightly browned on the bottom of the pan. Add the vinegar and 1 cup of broth. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Braise for 15 minutes. Add the remaining cup of broth and cover. Braise 15 minutes more. Taste and season with salt and pepper.