Hot Links, Red Beans & Rice

I got called a Multi-taskin' Maven the other day. I was pretty flattered, but really it's not that hard to do two dinners at once.  Since I'm now part of the working world again, I really struggled with the fact that I didn't have the same amount of time to make dinner, as I am sure many of you can relate too.  On Thursday night, I made a great Lasagna Soup with Spinach Ricotta (it'll post to my blog soon....), and also prepped my crockpot for Red Beans with Hot Links for Friday night's dinner at the same time.  It's so easy to do it this way and I love knowing that dinner is cooking while I am gone. I always thought I was kinda lazy, but maybe that's how Multi-taskin' Mavens are born.  

If my husband goes to Costco by himself, he always comes home with Hot Links.  Now, I like Hot Links as much as anyone, but sometimes I have to think of what to make with them besides Jambalaya.  Red beans and rice is the perfect way to use your Hot Links and make an easy dinner too. I've got more Hot Links left over, so I'm still going to have to come up with some other ideas too...

Hot Links, Red Beans and Rice is a very comforting dinner, and frankly a great way to make a dinner ahead of time for a crowd on a budget.

(Vegetable Broth is shown, but I actually used just water in the recipe!)

Serves about 8
Ingredients
1 cup onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery chopped, inside stalks with leaves
1 lb small red beans, dried
4 hot links, about 1 lb, chopped
8 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
Salt & Pepper

Add all the ingredients to a crock pot, except the Frank's Red Hot sauce and the salt and pepper. 

Cook on low for 8 hours.  

Take half the mixture out and blend it until smooth.  I used an immersion blender, but I almost processed it too much.

Taste and add the Red Hot sauce and salt & pepper to taste.  You may not want all the hot sauce, and then again, you might even want more!

Serve with rice and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Here's some more Cajun/Creole dishes that I like to make:
Shrimp, Cream & White Beans over Rice- Cajun Comfort Food
Jambalaya- Chicken, Hot Links & Shrimp