Rice/Beans
I made this last night, using a variation of the various hoppin’ john recipes the New York Times put out earlier this month.
I could have used dried beans if I had them on hand, and if I had enough extra time to cook them. This, however, was a Monday night meal, cooked relatively quickly after work. The canned beans saved me about an hour’s time, as well as simplifying water management — I only had to measure out the water to cook the rice, as opposed to cooking both rice and beans, a water quantity which is not additive from the requirements for each. I used Asian short-grain white rice; the water quantity will differ with the variety of rice. Anyway, I used stock instead of water.
Also, I steamed some broccoli on top of the mixture, while the hoppin’ john was in it’s final cooking phase. Total prep time was about 40 minutes.
Rice/Beans
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 package of turkey bacon (regular bacon can of course be used), chopped
1 teaspoon cheyenne pepper
2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chicken stock
16oz can kidney beans
1 bunch broccoli chopped (optional)
Chop onion and bacon to equal size. Saute garlic, onion and bacon on med-high heat with olive oil until onions start to brown. Add rice and pepper. Saute for a few minutes more, until rice starts to turn golden. Stir in chicken stock and liquid from the can of beans. Stir in beans.
When the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cover for 10 minutes. Stir rice and beans, and add chopped broccoli if using. Cover for 10 more minutes, then turn off heat. Let the rice and beans rest for about 10 minutes, then serve.