Pepper Black Beans and Rice with Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage

I love this simple to assemble meal. But, what's really awesome are the pepper black beans. I started making these recently and they're kind of addicting. When you add fresh finely ground pepper to the beans, not only do you notice the heat from the black pepper, but the taste of the black pepper as well. I don't suggest an amount of black pepper for this recipe, but my method is to add and taste, add and taste and you'll know when you've got it right.  

Ingredients:

2 cans Bush's black beans

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup basmati rice

Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage

Preparation:

Place the water, rice and salt into a rice cooker and let the rice cook while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Take the black beans and add to a medium sauce pan. Heat the beans to medium and then take a potato masher and mash up half the beans. Let the beans cook until the liquid is reduced making and nice thick sauce.

The sausages are already cooked so you just need to heat them up on the grill. Once heated you're ready to plate.

To serve, take a small bowl and use as a mold for the rice. Once the rice is on the plate, add the pepper black beans and then the sausage. Garnish with diced green onions and chopped Italian parsley.

Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage Etouffee

I had this one time at Mothers in New Orleans for lunch which was out of this world. If I'm ever in a restaurant and they have etouffee, I'm ordering it! It's rich and savory and Cajun and yummy.

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
1-1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 medium yellow onion diced
3 medium celery ribs diced
1/2 chopped bell pepper, any color, I used a red bell pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can diced tomato's, strained in a colander removing the sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Emeril's Essence, more as needed per taste
1 chicken 1/2 breast diced
12 medium shrimp, pealed and deveined
1 cooked Cajun sausage link cut to medium pieces
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch Italian parsley

Preparation:

Place the rice, water and salt into a rice cooker and let the rice cook while you prepare the etouffee.

 

Heat a 12" sauté pan to medium. Add the butter, olive oil and flour to make your roux. Sauté the roux for 10 minutes stirring regularly. The longer you cook the roux, the darker it will become. You want the color of the roux to be like a dark peanut butter color and then you'll know it's done.

Add the onions, celery, bell pepper and sauté cook for 10 - 12 minutes over medium low heat until the vegetables soft and translucent. Add the stock, diced tomato's, garlic, tabasco sauce, Emeril's essence, bay leaf and cook a couple of minutes to bring up to temp. 

 

The sauce should become fairly thick as heats up to temp. If you find the sauce is not thick enough, take a 1/4 cup water and mix in 1 tablespoon four and add to the sauté pan. Make sure the sauce is nice and thick! 

 

Add the diced chicken, shrimp and sausage and cook 10 minutes over medium heat, but not so high that the mixture is boiling. After 10 minutes check that the sauce is the perfect thickness and that the seasoning is perfect. Lastly, stir in a tablespoon of rough chopped Italian parsley and 4 diced green onions and you're done.

 

To serve, place a mound of rice in the middle of a serving plate. Spoon the etouffee onto the plate around the rice. Garnish with some green onions.

Penne Pasta with Aidells Spicy Mango with Jalapino Chicken Sausage

Here's a simple pasta dish that has loads of flavor and I love this new spicy mango with jalapeño chicken sausage from Aidells!

 

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Barilla penne pasta

3 Aidells mango with jalapeño chicken sausage

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

Chopped Italian parsley

Sat and pepper

 

Preparation:

Take a large stock pot and fill with water. Add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to boil. Cook the pasta according to directions which is usually 10 minutes to al dente which is firm to the bite. Drain the pasta and set a side.

 

Heat a 10" sauté pan to medium and a dash of olive oil and add the sausages. Cook the sausages so the browned on all sides. When done set a side to cool. Once cool, slice the sausages on an angle and set a side. 

 

Cut the bell peppers into about 1/4" x 1-1/2" strips. Heat a 12" sauté pan to medium high. Add one tablespoon olive oil and the bell pepper, onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes or until you see the bell peppers starting to turn translucent. Add the sausage, pasta and another tablespoon of olive oil and toss to heat up to serving temp.

 

To serve, place a portion of pasta on a serving plate. Drizzle with some olive oil and top with parmesan cheese, a dash of red pepper flakes, chopped Italian parsley and a grind of salt and pepper.   

Black Pepper White Beans and Rice with Chipotle Chorizo Chicken Sausage

While this recipe is close to my red beans and rice dish, the black pepper white beans have a completely different flavor because there is no tabasco sauce in the beans, just lots of fresh ground black pepper.

Interestingly, when you add 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper, you don't really notice the spiciness of the pepper, but rather the flavor of the pepper. Pair the black pepper white beans up with a chipotle chorizo sausage for an awesome meal.

 

Ingredients:

1 package al fresco chicken sausage

2 cans Bushes white beans

Salt to taste

1 - 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon olive oil

Dice green onions

Preparation:

Preparation: Rice

Start the rice off in a rice cooker first and it will be done just as everything else is coming together. 1 cup of white basmati rice to 2 cups of water and teaspoon salt.

 

Preparation: Beans

Drain and rinse the beans and add to a sauce pan. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Once heated take a large fork or potato masher and mash 1/2 of the beans. Add 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper and some salt. Taste the beans and if you can't taste the pepper add another teaspoon. Mix in the olive oil and turn off the heat while preparing the rest of the dish.
 

Preparation: Sausages

The sausages are usually already cooked so all you want is to heat in a sauté pan until golden brown.
 

To serve, place some rice on the plate, use a mold for presentation if you like. Add some beans to the plate and top with a sausage and garnish with fresh ground black pepper and diced green onions.

Chicken Italian Sausage with White Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic and Bay Leaf.

This dish is just crazy good! It's a rustic Tuscan recipe that I saw one of my favorite food network cooking dudes make and his name is Gabrieli Corcos. There is a combination of flavor that develops from the beans, garlic, bay leaf and the cherry tomatoes as they cook down  that is so unique. For this dish I used spicy Italian chicken sausage, but I can see making this dish with chicken as well, so stay tuned for that one. Try this dish! 

Ingredients:
2 Turkey Italian sausage
1 can great northern white beans
2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 bay leaf

Preparation:

Take a 10" sauté and brown off the turkey sausages. They're usually already cooked so you just want to heat and put some color on the sausages. When the sausages are done set a side.

Take the same 10" sauté pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat to medium. Add the white beans, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaf. Cook for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and broken down. Cut the sausages into large pieces and add to the beans and tomatoes, heat through and you're done. Serve the dish with a drizzle if olive oil and a grind of pepper.

Red Beans and Rice with Cajun Andouille Sausage and Garlic Toast

 

I love red beans and rice with spicy hot Andouille sausage and garlic toast. I have a favorite lunch spot in Monterey California called Ferddies and I would order this dish everytime. I've made this dish a couple of dozen times over the years and I think I've got it to a perfect match to Ferddies.

The key ingredient is that it's got to be Bush's red beans. You can substitute other brands or even red kidney beans, but it won't be the same. Second is the pork fat, you've got to have some pork fat to make the dish work.

Historically red beans would be cooked for a long period of time with ham hocks for the pork fat. I've found that real bacon bits will get the job done with no additional cooking time. Lastly, the tobasco is what brings the whole dish together and you can add more or less depending on how hot you like it.

Ingredients:

2 cans Bush's red beans

2 tablespoons crumbled bacon

1 tablespoon tobasco

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 Aidells andouille sausages

1 cup white basmati rice

garlic toast - sour baggette, garlic, butter

Preparation: Rice

Start the rice off in a rice cooker first and it will be done just as everything else is coming together. 1 cup of white basmanti rice to 2 cups of water and teaspoon salt.

Preparation: Red Beans

Drain and rinse the beans and add to a sauce pan. Add 1 cup of water, bacon bits, tobasco and bring to a boil. Once heated take a large fork or potato masher and mash 1/2 of the beans. Mix in the olive oil and turn off the heat while preparing the rest of the dish.

Preparation: Garlic Toast

Cut a french baggette into slices and put on a baking sheet. Add butter and 3 cloves crushed garlic to a small microwavable bowl and cook in the micro for 30 - 40 seconds. Brush the garlic butter onto the sliced bread and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

Preparation: Sausages

The Aidel's suasages are already cooked so all you want is to heat in a suate pan until golden brown but not burnt.

To serve; take the red beans and spread out on the plate. Use a small bowl as a mold to put the rice on the plate. Add the sausage, garlic toast and you're done.