Recipe Monday: New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

I am a Cajun girl transplanted to sunny Florida.  While I haven't kept many family traditions, I do make red beans and rice almost every Monday.  When my oldest daughter moved away for college this was the meal she requested when she came home to visit.  She also asked for the recipe when she learned that she could borrow pots and pans in the dorm to cook in the kitchen.  She made a huge pot of beans and rice for her friends in the common kitchen.

 Today I am going to share with you my version of New Orleans Red Beans and Rice.  I cook these all day but there are a couple of ways to make the cook time shorter:

1.) You can start with canned kidney beans just rinse them then add fresh water. 
2.) Use a quick boil method for softening the beans.  Bring your beans to a rolling boil for an hour, then follow the recipe below.  Don't forget to mash some of the beans or your beans will not be creamy especially with the quick boil.

Ingredients:
1 lb kidney beans
1 lbs sausage (omit if you want vegetarian)
1 med onion
2-3 stalks of celery
1/2 bell pepper (I like red)
3-4 cloves garlic  (you can use powder)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put beans into pot and cover about 3-4 inches with water. 
Cover and bring to a slow boil for 2-3 hours, watch the water because you may need to add water if it boils out. 
After a couple of hours turn off the heat and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.  During this wait time, chop your vegetables and seasonings. 
Bring pot back to low boil, mash some of the beans with a potato masher and add all of your seasonings.  Cook for 1 hour minimum
After the hour slice and add the sausage, I slice it very thin because my family likes it this way.  Cook again for about 30 minutes.

Serve over rice with corn bread.