Foodie Friday: Red Beans and Rice

With the cooler (ok cold) weather upon us, it was time to dig deep into my recipes and come up with a hearty, warm and filling meal.  At the same time, we had decided to start to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our daily life.  I am not used to creating a vegetarian meal.  I have almost always cooked in a very basic ‘meat and potatoes’ style.  What in the world was I going to come up with? 

I was up for the challenge!   I scoured the internet and I scoured cookbooks and an idea began to develop in my head.  I was going to make Red Beans and Rice and I was going to utilize my instant pot!   Oh my word, my mouth was drooling as I came up with my plan and recipe!

This recipe is amazing because it utilizes only 5 simple ingredients!  Yes, only five!   In fact, these ingredients are so simple that most kitchens will have the items in their cupboards as basic staple items!  I absolutely love recipes that I can literally say that I have no food in the house but then create a full meal!  This is one of those recipes that allow me to do it!

Even better?  This recipe uses the Instant Pot so it fills the need for a super quick and easy meal on those busy nights when the last thing you want to do is cook.  This meal is really that easy.  The prep work takes 5 minutes…MAYBE.  And then you walk away and 25 minutes later you have dinner.  Can it get any better than that for a home cooked meal?   

Oh yeah, it can!   It’s also delicious!

The flavor in this Red Beans and Rice recipe comes from one ingredient, salsa.  The control over the heat and flavor of this dish is all centered on the salsa that the cook uses for as an ingredient.  Personally, we like our foods a bit on the spicy and hot side, so I used a hot salsa that we frequently get.  It has great flavor and I knew that it would be a great base for this dish.   But if you like things less spicy, it is perfectly fine to choose a medium or mild salsa.    This is a personal preference,  chose your salsa based on your taste buds!

In our house, the leftovers from this dish are quickly consumed!  This has definitely become a new favorite!

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

·    1 1/4 cup dry Red Kidney Beans

·    1 1/2 cup dry Brown Rice

·    1 cup Salsa

·    3 cups Vegetable Broth

·    2 cups Water

Instructions

·    Add the dried Beans and Rice to the bottom of your Instant Pot.

·    Gently pour the Vegetable Broth and Water over the Rice and Beans, then give everything a good stir.

·    Next, add the Salsa into the pot. Do not mix!

·    Close the Instant Pot, set the valve to Sealing, and use the Manual Mode to cook on High for 25 Minutes.

·    Once the cook time finishes, let the Instant Pot release pressure for an additional 10 Minutes (leave the “Keep Warm” feature on).

·    Finally, move the valve from Sealing to Venting to release all remaining pressure, and serve the Beans and Rice warm. Garnish with anything you desire!

For more recipes, visit my recipe page!