RiceLove Bloghop – Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

This title was almost going to be, “What’s In Your Kitchen Red Beans and Rice!”  BUT instead decided to make it simple, I am a simple girl after all!

There are 16 of us hosting a RiceLove bloghop the month of September.  Sixteen fabulous different ways to enjoy delicious rice.  If you do not enjoy rice, you can substitute with my favorite, quinoa!

If you make a rice dish this month, please link it up at the end of this blog!  That is the fun part of a bloghop, sharing in the RiceLove!

The reason for the alternate title, I didn’t want to walk away from tv today, HA!  Hey it is first weekend of college football, first weekend to enjoy a day of rest, and lots of football!

I knew we had lots of veggies in the house, so vegetarian red beans and rice was born.  Most red beans and rice recipes I found used bell pepper, and a meat that is full of flavor (bacon, sausage, or ham.)  With our healthy eating changes, I decided to use brown rice for the dish.  Brown rice is not stripped of all the nutrients, and bleached, like white rice.

My version of Red Beans and Rice -

1 3/4 cups brown rice

3 Tbsps butter

1 can of red kidney beans ( reserve 1/2 cup of liquid)

1 yellow squash chopped

1/2 – 1 cup fresh corn (I had one small ear of corn)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup onion chopped (I chopped1/2 of medium onion)

1-2 cups vegetable stock (You can use what ever flavor stock you chose)

2 cloves of garlic

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Directions -

Prepare brown rice as directed.  (I added three tablespoons of butter to boiling water.)  (I cooked the brown rice about half way, small amount of water left.)

In large saute pan, heat up olive oil, add onion and saute until translucent, add squash, corn, kidney beans, and reserved liquid from kidney beans.  Saute for 1 -2 minutes.

Add brown rice, bay leaf, crushed pepper, cayenne, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.  Next add 1 -2 cups of vegetable stock, let simmer for 20-30 minutes, (may need more water or stock if rice is not cooked enough.)

Note – To make this vegan, use Earth Balance Soy butter, instead of regular butter.

Enjoy!

Again hubby and I had happy tummies, while enjoying a fantastic football game!

Here are the other lovely RiceLove Bloggers -

Baker Street – Anuradha

Bloc de Recetas – Salome

Bon a Croquer – Valerie

Chef Pandita -Yuri

Daily Palette – Annapet

Tagged as: Beans, BlogHop, Football, homemade, Recipe, Rice, Vegetarian