Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

This is the ultimate in thriftiness and convenience - beans in a slow cooker. The long, slow cooking time coaxes all the flavor from the sausage into the beans for a mild yet full-flavored dish. You can also cook in on low heat for 8 hours.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup bean mixture, 3/4 cup rice, and 1 tablespoon green onions)

Ingredients

• 3  cups  water
• 1  cup  dried red kidney beans
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 3/4  cup  chopped celery
• 1  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1  teaspoon  paprika
• 3/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/2  (14-ounce) package turkey, pork, and beef smoked sausage, thinly sliced (such as Healthy Choice)
• 1  bay leaf
• 5  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 3  cups  hot cooked long-grain rice
• 1/4  cup  chopped green onions

Preparation

Combine first 12 ingredients in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid; cook on high heat for 5 hours. Discard bay leaf; stir in salt. Serve over rice; sprinkle servings evenly with green onions.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

413 (5% from fat)

Fat:

2.5g (sat 0.7g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.5g)

Protein:

21.1g

Carbohydrate:

76.3g

Fiber:

10.1g

Cholesterol:

18mg

Iron:

6mg

Sodium:

749mg

Calcium:

102mg