Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

Background

My good friend and fellow Cornell grad student, Sande Burr made this one night and I was hooked. I got the recipe from her (from a newspaper clipping). The ingredients are approximate and I use canned beans instead of dried beans.

Recipe

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 cups onions, minced
1 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (I use a lot more)
1 tbsp sugar
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
4 tomatoes, diced (I like to deseed the tomatoes)
4 cans kidney beans, drained
1 lb polish sausage, cooked and cut into small pieces
1/2 lb Andouille sausage, cooked and cut into small pieces
6-8 cups cooked rice
1 cup green onions, minced

Heat oil and sauté garlic, white onion, green pepper, and celery until onions are translucent. Add parsley, cayenne, bay leaf, thyme, tabasco, sugar, salt, pepper, tomatoes and kidney beans. Mix well and let heat thoroughly. Remove 1 cup to a food processor and purée. Add back to the pot and stir in. Add sausages and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and mix with the rice. Serve with green onions and Tabasco.

Notes

I actually cook the green onions with the rest of the onions instead of using them at the end.