I was never a big fan of red beans and rice until a few years ago. Hubby loves it. The few times I had tried it, I found it to be bland and to be honest, there are not many beans that I do like. (Yes, I was one of those bean haters as a child.) Then one day hubby and I tried a new little Southern resturant and that had opened near our house. What did they have on the menu, but you guessed it, red beans and rice. It sounded pretty tastey so I broke down and tried it. Wow, smack my moma it was delicious. Ok, I would never smack my moma because one, I love my moma and I could never do that and two, I want to live another day. So, this is my version with some chicken thrown in as well. So here you have it folks. This makes one hearty meal.
Here’s what you need:
Basmati Rice, can of red beans, one onion, one clove of garlic, chicken broth, boneless skinless chicken breasts, dried Thyme, paprika, cumin, Cajun seasoning and a Bay leaf.
Start by sprinkling 2 tsp. paprika, 1Tbs. Thyme, 1/2 tsp. Cumin, 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning or more to taste, depending on how spicy you like your chicken and 1 tsp. salt (poor little guy I left that out of the picture) onto 2 chicken breasts.
Rub mixture onto chicken, coating both sides. If you think the seasoning mixture is not enough to suit your taste, then by all means add more. I usually do before it’s all said and done.
Heat 2 Tbs. of olive oil or canola oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken. Cook until chicken is no longer pink (about 10 to 15 minutes), turning chicken over at least once during cooking time. If the spices on the chicken appear to become to brown during cooking time, turn heat down to medium.
After chicken is cooked, cut into bite size pieces and set aside. Leave any drippings from the chicken in the pan.
In a medium to large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil on medium heat. Add 1 chopped onion and one minced clove of garlic. Saute’ until onion becomes soft and translucent.
Add 2 Cups of chicken broth to the pot; heat until boiling.
Rinse 1 Cup of Basmati rice and add to the pot with the chicken broth.
Next, add all of that tasty chicken drippings to the rice and chicken broth. We can’t let that go to waste.
Add one Bay leaf.
Cover pot and simmer until rice is done, about 20 minutes.
Rinse the beans….
and add to the rice. Be sure to take out the Bay leaf so no one has a surprise later.
Then stir in the chicken and gently mix well.
Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes and serve.
Red Beans and Rice with Cajun Chicken
Ingredients:
1 C. Basmati Rice
2 C. Chicken, preferably low sodium
1 Can of Red Beans; drained
1 small onion; chopped
1 garlic clove; minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 Tbs. dried Thyme
1 Tbs. Paprika
1 Tbs. Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 Bay Leaf
Directions:
Rub Thyme, Paprika, Cajun Seasoning, Cumin and salt onto both chicken breasts, coating both sides. You can use more spices, depending on your taste.
Heat 2 Tbs. of olive oil or canola oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken. Cook until chicken is no longer pink (about 10 to 15 minutes), turning chicken over at least once during cooking time. If the spices on the chicken appear to become to brown during cooking time, turn heat down to medium.
After chicken is cooked, cut into bite size pieces and set aside. Leave any drippings from the chicken in the pan.
In a medium to large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil on medium heat. Add 1 chopped onion and one minced clove of garlic. Saute’ until onion becomes soft and translusent.
Add chicken broth to the pot; heat until boiling.
Rinse rice and add to the chicken broth.
Add drippings from the chicken to the rice/ chicken broth mixture along with Bay Leaf. Cover and simmer until rice is done, about 20 minutes.
Once the rice is done, rinse the beans and add to the rice, making sure to remove Bay Leaf.
Stir in the chicken and gently mix well.
Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes and serve.
Enjoy!
My Little Corner of the Kitchen 