What do I mean by a “Kinda Sorta Red Beans and Rice Recipe?” Well, it kinda tastes like an ‘official’ red beans and rice dish but it sorta doesn’t just have red beans in it…or smoked sausage. No, I didn’t use some weird bean substitute (like tofu), there’s actual beans in there and the smoked sausage was replaced with some lamb merguez sausage that I had in my freezer. You see, sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. I NEEDED a pot of red beans and rice and I scrounged my cupboards and freezer for ingredients. You’re gonna want to stay with me on this because I’ve got a really nice giveaway for you in this post.
I recently received a box of RiceSelect™ rices and they asked me to come up with a recipe utilizing one of their rice blends showing how I eat healthy while enjoying the foods of the world. I like the fact that you can buy a single container of rice and get a great blend of rices and/or grains in one package. It saves me from having to do all the mixing myself. (Not that I do that a lot, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little more variety on your fork than just a pile of plain ol’ rice.)
They sent me a container of each of their three blends: Royal Blend® with Brown and Red and Wild Rice (which contains pre-cooked brown, wild and red rice); Royal Blend® with Flaxseed (which contains Texmati® light brown rice, whole wheat pearl couscous, brown flaxseed and black lentils) and Royal Blend® with Quinoa (which contains Texmati Light Brown Rice, red quinoa and freekah). I tried them all, but my favorite is the brown, red and wild rice mixture. These combinations give you lots of different textures and flavors with each bite, plus all the mixtures cook in under 20 minutes.
Back to the red beans and rice recipe. Once I received the box, I was smacked upside the head with a craving for red beans and rice. Maybe because I haven’t had any in so long and probably because I have a trip coming up to New Orleans, next month. What’s a girl to do, but satisfy those cravings. There aren’t too many other dishes that make rice one of the star players. It is called red beans and rice after all.
To the cupboards and freezer I went, looking for the ingredients I needed. The closest thing I found to red beans, was a package of cassoulet beans (hey, there’s some red ones in there) and my two choices of sausage were linguica or lamb merguez (yes, food bloggers keep some seriously strange ingredients on hand). I opted for the lamb.
Red beans and rice is a ridiculously easy dish to make – 2 pots and a lot of cooking time is all it takes to feed an army of people, or yourself for a few days. By the way…red beans and rice freezes really well. So portion it out into zip top bags and you’ll have a great meal that you can re-heat in minutes on one of those nights when you don’t feel like cooking.
A dish like this only really requires a few things to give you that authentic flavor (of course I’m not from NOLA, so I’m sure those people will tell you/me that we’re wrong) – cajun spices and smoked ham hocks. Those two things are the strongest flavors in the dish. Using a mixture of dried beans gave me the same texture as using all red beans (you can used canned red beans, but you don’t cook it as long so I don’t think the flavors are as intense…but they work). The lamb merguez gave the dish a slightly different meaty flavor, but didn’t compete with the smoky ham flavor that came from the hocks. So what I’m trying to say is…don’t be afraid to make some substitutions in dishes. Use the stuff you already have.
Now, about that giveaway. You could win a $100 Visa gift card just for answering a simple question and leaving your answer in the comment section below. Sound simple enough?
Here’s the question: What is your favorite dish that includes rice and which Rice Select mix would you choose?
Want to learn more about their products, simply click on the RiceSelect™ link. Oh, and they’re part of the Non GMO Project too.
See what stores, near you, carry the RiceSelect™ Blends: RiceSelect™ Store Locator. Or you can pick them up on Amazon.
Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 10/7/2013-11/7/2013.
Be sure to visit the RiceSelect brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
- 1 Pound Dried Cassoulet Beans (or dried red beans, for authenticity)
- 1 - 2 Tablespoons Bacon Fat (or olive oil - amount depends on fat content of your sausage)
- 6½ Ounces Lamb Merguez Sausage (cut into 1 inch pieces)(or smoked sausage of your choice)
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion (chopped)
- 3 Stalks Celery (chopped)
- 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
- 1 Good Pinch of Kosher Salt
- A Few Grinds of Black Pepper
- 2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 Teaspoons Cajun Seasoning
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1½ - 2 Pounds Smoked Ham Hocks
- 4 Cups Vegetable Stock
- 2 Cups Water
- 2 Cups (uncooked) Royal Blend with Brown, Red & Wild Rice
- Parsley (optional)
- Pick through the beans to make sure there are no pebbles in there. Pour them into a large container and cover them with water until they are covered by 2 inches of water. Let them sit overnight.
- Drain the water from the beans and set them aside.
- Drop the fat into a large Dutch oven and heat over medium high heat.
- Once melted, add the sausage to the pan and cook until browned (about 5 minutes).
- Remove the sausage from the pan and set it aside.
- Add the onions, celery and pepper to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Stir occasionally to keep things from sticking to the pan.
- Add the garlic, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and bay leaves to the cooking vegetables and give everything a good stir.
- Nestle the ham hocks into the vegetables then pour in the beans.
- Carefully add the stock and water to the pan and stir to mix things up.
- Bring everything to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Cook for 90 minutes and stir from time to time to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the sausage, and its drippings, back to the pan and stir. Cook for another 90 minutes at a simmer. Continue to stir it from time to time.
- While the pot of beans if finishing up, cook the rice according to package directions.
- Once the beans are done, remove the bay leaves and throw them away. Then pull out the ham hocks, remove the meat from them then chop it up and stir it back into the pot.
- Serve the red beans and rice in a bowl and garnish with parsley or chopped green onions.
Welcome to My Man's Belly! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about the site or if there's a recipe you'd like to see here. Have a great day.
I would use the Royal Blend® Texmati® White, Brown & Red Rice and my favorite is plain white rice
this looks good but i dont think i be able to get my family to eat it.i really wish i could but they are so picky some times and so stubborn to try new things 🙁
twitter link! https://twitter.com/goinsjodi/status/398624795178176512
texmati cuz i love rice n beans
I’m interested in the brown rice with flax, but I think the brown red wild mix would work best in fried rice. I like to take leftover fried rice and turn them into fritters and dip them into katsu sauce.
I love Dirty Rice and would like to try the Royal Blend® with Quinoa.
https://twitter.com/slehan/status/398590199740915712
I want to try the RiceSelect Royal Blend with Red Quinoa in a casserole.
Thanks for the contest.
https://twitter.com/ladyt64/status/398576101724663808
I’d use the Royal Blend® with Brown and Red and Wild Rice with my favorite chicken dish.
I like stir fry on rice.
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/398554567517802496
My favorite dish that involves the use of rice is my Creamy Mushroom & Cheddar Casserole! I would use the Royal Blend® Texmati® White, Brown & Red Rice!
tweet https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/398551547417600000
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/398548046780186624
I love rice with shrimp and i want to try the Royal Blend® Whole Grain with Texmati® Brown & Red Rice
I would try the jasmati and I like my riced baked with my children
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/398530622445989888
I like risotto and I want to try RiceSelect Royal Blend, Texmati White, Brown, Wild, & Red Rice.
I like Spanish rice. I would pick Royal Blend with Quinoa.
Chicken Jook is my favorite recipe. I would like to try the Royal Blend Texmatic Light Brown Rice with Flaxseed.
I would make Rice Pudding and use the Royal Blend Rice in it.
i would like to try the RiceSelect Royal Blend with Red Quinoa first. i am working on getting more quinoa in my diet and this would be perfect for me. i like to make chicken and rice and this would be perfect for that.
I Tweeted: https://twitter.com/lisalmg/status/398477090556608512
My favorite dish with rice is Stuffed Peppers and I would choose the Royal Blend with Brown and Red and Wild Rice.
lisalmg25 at gmail dot com
I tweeted https://twitter.com/2BeFitBy50/status/398473846145044480
I love to make Stuffed Peppers and would use the Arborio Rice
I love chicken curry so I would like the kasmati rice
I like lots of rice dishes but a cabbage and mushroom stir fry is a favorite, I’d like to try the Royal Blend® Texmati® Light Brown Rice with Quinoa.
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/398445056580796418
id choose the Texmati® Light Brown Rice to make Spinach and Feta Casserole with Brown Rice and Parmesan that looks delicious http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Spinach-and-feta-casserole-with-brown-rice-and-parmesan-309255
I would make rice and beans with Royal Blend Whole Grain with Texmati Brown & Red Rice
https://twitter.com/miriama59/status/398414715581247489
Rice pudding and I would use JASMATI RICE
I would make a favorite dish of mine called Beef & Rice Fiesta, I would use the TEXMATI WHITE RICE.
Baked rice with tomato sauce, parmesan and potatoes.
Royal Blend Rice Blend.
https://twitter.com/scg00387/status/398315965735120896
id use the flaxseed mix for stuffed peppers!
I love Arroz con Pollo! and I’d like the variety with Flaxseed.
Link to tweet:
https://twitter.com/catholicfanatic/status/398299424104800256
I love black beans and rice with any mexican or cuban dish! I would try the EXMATI LIGHT BROWN RICE.
I love chicken and rice soup. I would try the Royal Blend Rice with Flaxseed.
I love the Rice Blends…I buy the ones with flaxseed and there orzo blends.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/bettycd/status/398292725977456640
I would try the Royal Blend with flaxseed and make dirty rice. A ground beef browned and combined with the rice mix. We like to add mushrooms
I like to make a chicken & rice casserole and I would like to try the Texmati White Rice
Chicken and rice and I would probably use the royal blend!
My favorite rice dish is Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls and I would try the Royal Blend Rice Blend
annabella @ centurytel dot net
I like a simple chicken with rice. I would use the RiceSelect Royal Blend, Texmati White, Brown, Wild, & Red Rice
I like rice pudding 🙂 I’d try Arborio rice.
I like rice with just about anything. A favorite is Honey walnut chicken over rice. I’d try the Kasmati rice.
I want to try the Texmati rice
Risotto is my favorite. Would try Royal Blend® with Flaxseed
Rice soup
tweeted https://twitter.com/pittsy82/status/398211897352155136
RiceSelect Brown rice blend.
tweeted for entry
https://twitter.com/mhohertz/status/398206120633720832
ROYAL BLEND TEXMATI WHITE, BROWN & RED is my favorite of their blends. And Favorite rice dish… hmmn… it’s spinach, garlic, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, sausage with spices on top of a blend of brown and wild rice.
I like stuffed peppers and the royal blend with quinoa would be good.
I grew up on stir-fry, I’d try the Jasmati Rice blend.
Stuffed peppers is my favorite dish that includes rice and I would try the Royal Blend® Texmati® Light Brown Rice with Quinoa first!
I would like to try the Royal blend first.
I love stir fry; I could eat it every day lol I would love to try making it with their Jasmati rice I bet it would be delicious 🙂
Red beans and rice, and I would use the rice blend.
My favorite rice dish is chicken terryaki and I would choose to make it with Brown and Red and Wild Rice.
i love black beans rice and cilantro and would choose royal blend
Royal Blend with Flaxseed is the one I’d love to try! I’d make stir fry with it.
I love shrimp fried rice and I would choose the Royal Blend with Red Quinoa.
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/397979317323329536
amy [at] utry [dot] it
My favorite rice dish is my homemade shrimp fried rice. RiceSelect’s Jasmati would be perfect for the dish. 🙂
amy [at] utry [dot] it
My favorite rice dish is risotto. I would try Royal Blend® Texmati® Light Brown Rice with Quinoa
I love making homemade Jambalaya and would choose the RiceSelect Brown, Red and Wild rice blend.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
sweet n sour chicken with texmati white rice
i tweeted https://twitter.com/pryfamily5/status/397830485553852416 pryfamily5@gmail.com
i’d try Royal Blend® Texmati® Light Brown Rice with Flaxseed along with chicken stir-fry
pryfamily5@gmail.com
tweet
https://twitter.com/eswright18/status/397819051545604096
My favorite dish with rice is broccoli cheese casserole.
I’d like to try the Arborio rice.
Thanks for the giveaway!
eswright18 at gmail dot com
My favorite rice dish is rice pudding and I would choose the Royal blend
https://twitter.com/raggammuffin/status/397774749280915456
i love fried rice. i would use the one with red quinoa to change it up
Royal blend Rice Blend and I’ll make jambalaya.
I would really like to try the Royal Blend® with Quinoa. My favorite rice dish is chicken and yellow rice, my mom used to make that a lot when I was young.
i tweeted https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/397406104172253184
i love red beans and rice i would used the brown rice
My favorite is always a chicken and rice stir fry. You can always mix the ingredients to make it taste different. My favorite Rice Select is the Jasmati
My favorite rice dish is jambalaya!
My favorite rice dish is a chicken and sausage jambalaya and I would use the rice blend with quinoa.
I love a pork curry with rice and would use Royal Blend with Brown and Red and Wild Rice
i like sweet and sour chicken and rice, and i would try the Royal Blend® Whole Grain with Texmati® Brown & Wild Rice
I love it
aznsweep@hotmail.com
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/397296310996316160
I’d like to try the Royal Blend® with Brown and Red and Wild Rice to make my favorite stir fry.
I have a lazy day chicken and rice recipe and I would use jasmine rice.
tweeted as well https://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/397178583505854464
I love risotto and I’d love to try this blend: Royal Blend® Texmati® Light Brown Rice with Quinoa. 🙂
i posted a tweet:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/397121699763597312
i like chicken and rice – i would like to try the Royal Blend® Whole Grain with Texmati® Brown & Wild Rice
I like enchiladas with rice as a side.
Tweeted at https://twitter.com/KDFF/status/397059926524039169
My favorite is wild rice risotto and I would use the arborio rice
RiceSelect™ Jasmati® Rice for a rice pudding…Love dessert!
https://twitter.com/eaglesforjack/status/396812583224614913
I would like to get creative with the royal blend in like a stir fry creation for the hubby and kids
One of my fave dishes is a chicken/rice/broccoli casserole. I’d like to try their Jasmati.
My fave rice dish is chicken stir fry
Tweeted 🙂 – https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/396652893635215361
My favorite dish, with rice, is Orange Chicken 🙂 For that, I’d use the Texmati rice 🙂
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/BlumbyBlimpers/status/396539314693095425
My favorite rice dish is plain rice with butter and I would choose Texmati. Thanks for the giveaway!
tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/396429142607925248
I’d love to make a chicken and rice soup with the JASMATI RICE.
rice pudding 🙂 I would like the wild rice blend
I love red beans and rice. I would like to try the Royal Blend Texmati White, Brown & Red Rice.
smchester at gmail dot com
I like the Royal Blend with Red Quinoa and my favorite rice dish is peppers stuffed with parmesan cheese rice!
demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com
I love the Tuscany Rice and Bean Soup recipe and I would use Texmati light brown rice
Tweet @JalapenoMama
https://twitter.com/JalapenoMama/status/396298179445944321
Tweet https://twitter.com/JalapenoMama/status/396298179445944321
I’d make a version of Spanish rice using the Royal Blend with Quinoa – oh yum!
Royal Blend® Whole Grain with Texmati® Brown & Wild Rice
ky_grandma40@yahoo.com
Would love to see some sort of funky Spanish rice dish.
Red beans and rice with Hinode rice.
https://twitter.com/methhamfetabean/status/396273503260794880
My favorite dish with rice is a Curried Red Lentil Stew – and I would LOVE to use the Royal Blend® with Quinoa in the mix to try it out. This red beans and rice recipe sounds so good.
Tweet
https://twitter.com/clc408/status/396230925219934208
I love stuffed peppers and would like to try them with Royal Blend® Texmati® White, Brown & Red Rice
The dish I like is chicken and rice. I would like to try the Royal Blend® Texmati Light Brown Rice with Quinoa
My tweet is here: https://twitter.com/sottovocerocks/status/396056334245703680
🙂
My favorite rice recipe is my own green curry extra spicy rice and chicken. 🙂 I think my choice would be Royal Blend with flaxseed. Thank you.
I love stir fry but I would use the wild rice to be different!
I like chicken and rice soup. I would use whole grain rice.
austma7@aol.com
Royal Blend® with Quinoa and would put in my burritos!
tvollowitz at aol dot com
I like to make a rice and bean casserole and I would choose the Texmati light brown rice.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/396000406343389186
I love homemade stuffed peppers. I’d love to try the Royal Blend Texmati White, Brown & Red Rice
My favorite is Chicken Cacciatore and I’d use the Texmati white, brown and red which will taste delicious with the sauce.
Chicken and rice soup is my favorite.. I would like to try Light Brown Rice with Flaxseed.
I love basmati rice with indian spices. I like the Rice blend.
Love chicken and rice soup i would use whole grain
rice dish is risotto yummm
chicken rice soup.
Our family would like the Light Brown Rice with Flaxseed and smothered chicken, great way to add fiber!
https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/394557402567041025
I love Chicken Kow Pad Prik with white rice. I would like to try Royal Blend with Quinoa
https://twitter.com/HappyTina0115/status/394041573010186241
i like curry rice. I would try the JASMATI RICE
Probably Stuffed Peppers and I would use the Rice Blend (Brown and Red Wild Rice).
thisisme79 @ gmail dot com
Love chicken and rice soup. I’d definitely like to try one of the whole grain blends.
chambanachik at gmail dot com
tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/392710765355888640
I would choose the TEXMATI LIGHT BROWN RICE and put it with my beef and broccoli recipe.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
Rice Pudding with rice/quinoa
Glorified rice, and I’d select wild rice
tweeted
https://twitter.com/MelindaJoy926/status/391946946274816000
I like to make salmon over rice, and I’d select rice and quinoa
I like mixing salsa and rice together. I’d use Royal Blend® Texmati® White, Brown & Red Rice.
I tweeted
https://twitter.com/MsCarolsueA/status/389626720334000129
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
With Arborio Rice, I would make Parmigiano-Reggiano Risotto
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/389585655103119360
Takikomi Gohan is our favorite, I would use RiceSelect Royal blend to make it.
I wanna make a rice pilaf type thing from the brown/red/wild rice blend!
I love chicken fried rice. I would want to try the Arborio variety.
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/389120908217954304
I would use the RiceSelect™ Jasmati® Rice and make rice pudding.
I posted a tweet too: https://twitter.com/AnnaZed/status/388552614289235968
Girlfriend! I am FROM new Orleans and let me tell you; one thing you will find out is that New orleans recipes allow for a very wide range of variation. You are right in the tradition. I too would make red beabs and rice but it would come out completely differently! I’d try to use that Brown and Red and Wild Rice just for fun!
Tweet: https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/388347902784831489
onefrugalgirl AT gmail DOT com
I make a mean rice curry dish. I’d love to try the RiceSelect Royal Blend with Red Quinoa.
Red Beans and Rice – of course I immediately thought of the words to the song “Baby Got Back” -“… red beans and rice didn’t miss her…” Sorry about that, I could not resist. I’m not familiar with this brand, but their combos sound great. They must each have remarkably textural variety. I think I’d use the Royal Blend® with Brown and Red and Wild Rice as a base for a poultry stuffing. Yup, that’s it.
tweet
https://twitter.com/1amypugmire/status/388052946186817536
I love my beef tips in gravy and I would pick the TEXMATI BROWN RICE to use with it.
I tweeted! https://twitter.com/RebeccaGF666/status/388052310120615936
I love rice with Chana Masala! I would love to try the Royal Bland you feature here in the recipe!
tweet
https://twitter.com/MeandBells/status/387984429982838784
I would do the greek rice with some sort of a sweet chicken mix 🙂
Great ideas to make with rice
Rice pudding. I have such a sweet tooth, and home made rice pudding is the BEST!
I’d try the Royal Blend with Quinoa in my old stand by, broccoli rice and cheese casserole.
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/387709138261659648
My favorite rice dish is to include it in my Chicken Burritos, I would use I would most like to try Texmati light brown rice because it cooks quickly
yum, that looks good with the bigger beans! I’d use the blend with quinoa and freekah because I’ve been wanting to try making something with freekah but haven’t! I LOVE stuffed peppers with rice, veggies, tomatoes, etc… it’s another one of those recipes you can sort of throw whatever you have into. I bet it would be yummy with a mixed rice like that.
I want to try the Royal blend with chicken, mushrooms, green chiles and cheese!
My favorite rice dish is Risotto! I love a good risotto with roasted mushrooms, using the Rice Select Arborio rice.
tweet: https://twitter.com/akronugurl/status/387552847383891969 .
i like to try the Brown and Red and Wild Rice.
tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/387547455136342016
jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com
I would choose the Royal Blend® Whole Grain with Texmati® Brown & Red Rice and make vegetarian chili and rice
“Kinda sorta”is right. lol ~;0) 😉
tweet-https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/387399838356082688
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/387375249282453505
I love Spanish chicken and rice. I would like to try the Brown and Red and Wild Rice.
My favorite rice dish is risotto. I would try the Royal Blend Rice with Flaxseed.
elena150980 at yahoo dot com