"Red Beans and Ricely Yours" - Louis Armstrong

We usually have Red Beans and Rice on Monday in order to carry on the tradition of the 19th century New Orleans housewives who started it all.  Well, that and because I love Red Beans and Rice.  From what I know, they put a big pot of beans over the fire to cook while they did laundry.  In those days, they had to do laundry by hand and of course it took all day. Thank God for modern conveniences, huh?  I don't think I would have survived long in the 19th century because I usually have one or two loads of laundry to do every day.

There are very many different versions of Red Beans and Rice out there.  Here's mine:

I like to use andouille sausage because it's a little bit spicy, but the store here hardly ever carries it.  Polska is second best.

Some like it sliced into medallions, some like it chopped small.  I like it this way:

Would it be called medallion halves?

Cook the sausage in a little oil over med-high heat. It tastes best when it's almost charred.

Take out the cooked sausage and place on a paper towel to absorb the fat.  Leave some fat in the pan to cook the vegetables- also known as The Trinity (bell peppers, celery and onion), plus carrots for color.

At this point, I like to grind in some black peppercorns for flavor

After that gets all tender-good, transfer to a dutch oven and add water (or broth), and about 1 lb of cooked red beans....

..and some cajun spice mix and season to your tastes.  My cajun spice mix is homemade.  It has garlic, onion, thyme, oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper.  I like making all my own spice blends.  I've wanted Blake to make labels for me forever because he's got the best penmanship.  He hasn't been able to, so I just made them myself.

Let it simmer a half hour or so for the flavors to meld and the delicious aroma to fill up the whole house.  Meanwhile, make some rice to serve with it.  I have always used Uncle Ben's long grain white rice.  It's just the best!  I like to make twice as much so we can have rice pudding later in the week for breakfast.

This dish is so filling, there's no need for a side of vegetables or a salad although I've been known to be feeling a little extra starchy and making cornbread muffins to serve alongside.