Red Beans and Rice

Traditional red beans and rice usually has a ham hock cooked within for a bit......and then of course, some sort of sausage. This recipe has neither.......I still managed a bit of the smoky flavor by using liquid smoke, but really, there's no substitute for the flavor the ham hock imparts. In my opinion, it's a tad spicy, but my husband doesn't think so. And again - the resident carnivore pronounced this dish "pretty good", so I take that as a raging endorsement.

This makes a pretty big batch......enough for 10 to 12 people easily. My husband and I will be eating this for dinner for the next week.

Here goes:

1 lb of pinto beans (or use whatever red-ish beans you prefer)
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
A few shakes of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon thyme (I used dried)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons of chopped chipotles in adobo sauce (this adds smoky flavor - try not to skip using it)
1 to 2 Tablespoons of fresh sage - minced (I use 2 Tablespoons)
1 green bell pepper (I blackened mine)
1 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced

I use my large crock pot and let the recipe cook for 4 to 5 hours, or until the beans are very soft.
You could cut down on the time by using canned beans instead of dried, but I think the long, slow simmer helps the flavors meld together.

Here are the steps in the order I did them. You could prep some of it ahead if need be:

1). Pick through the beans to remove and small pebbles that may have made their way in the bag. Wash them thoroughly and dump in the crock pot. Add water until the water is about an inch above the beans.
2). Add to the crock pot: the liquid smoke, worcestershire sauce, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme, black pepper, cayenne, chipotles, and sage. Turn it on high.
3). Rub some olive oil on the bell pepper, and blacken it in a pan. Just lay it on it's side, whole and with the stem intact. Check it every few minutes; when it's black on that side, turn it to another side.
4). While the bell pepper was cooking, I chopped my onion and garlic. Leave them seperate - don't combine the onion and garlic.
5). In other pan, heat up a bit of olive oil and saute the onions for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, stir it around another minute or so. Dump the onion and garlic in the crock pot.
6). By now, the bell pepper should be ready. Let it cool, then chop it into very small pieces. Add it to the crock pot.
7). All you need to do is stir it every so often, and make sure the water level stays above the beans. You will need to add more water throughout the cooking process. I also added more salt and pepper after about 3 hours.
8). I leave my crock pot on high for about 3 hours, then turn it to low for another couple of hours. Cooking time will vary depending on your pot. Test the softness of the beans by taste.
9). When you think the beans are soft enough, mash up about half of them - or more than half, depending on the consistency you want your red beans and rice to have. I just mash them right in the crock pot.
10). Spoon over rice and enjoy!