Red Beans & Rice Shortcut Version

Disclaimer * This is a semi-homemade version of Red Beans and Rice.. not your grandma's real deal but oh so close. We have this dinner ALL the time since it is probably one of the easiest recipes ever and I make it ahead of time on Saturday, put the whole pot in the fridge and when we get out of Church on Sunday it reheats fast and delicious. I use a lot of words to describe stuff so that you get a good idea on what I'm talking about.. don't let a lot of words fool you into thinking this is complicated.. b/c it is extremely simple.

What you'll need:

1 pkg your favorite sausage, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans of red beans.. I usually get one can of dark red kidney beans and one can light red kidney beans.. sometimes I can actually find a can of just "red beans" but whatever the store has is fine. I always buy the off brand. They were out of the light red kidney beans this week so we had 2 dark red cans.. whatever.
about a tablespoon of corn starch

Cooked rice *if you want a wow flavor, substitute the water for chicken stock (in the box).. MUCH BETTER with this dish
Jiffy cornbread. no substitutions. it is the best :)
Tony Chacheres, or seasoned salt

here we go...

I buy something different each time.. I like this stuff from HEB - however, I don't love kielbasa sausage in it.. use a local-ish type sausage

Brown the sausage a little bit

while it is browning, chop onions, bell pepper & garlic

Add onions and peppers to sausage and saute *hold back garlic until after onions and peppers are cooked down a bit. *I do this b/c the garlic would burn and taste bitter.

open the cans of beans, DO NOT DRAIN! Dump it all in juicy syrupy stuff and all.

Look in the bottom of the can, you'll see a little bit of bean sediments at the bottom.. fill the can about 1/3 of the way up and add tablespoon of corn starch and dissolve completely *stirring up those little bean bits off the bottom of the can.

Add corn starch mixture (rosey cloudy pink color) to skillet and stir it up
It will look like this (below). Season with Tony's or whatever seasoned salt you like. (*be careful with seasonings if you have an extra spicy sausage). Stir, cover and bring it up to boil for a minute and lower it to a slight simmer for about 15 minutes.

(The function of the corn starch is to change the liquid from watery to more of a gravy consistency.. if yours is still too watery, add some corn starch to a little water, dissolve it and then add it to your pan. never put dry corn starch into your food - it will make gummy clumps. If you have the opposite problem and it is too thick, add chicken stock or water to thin it out. no problem.)

Serve over rice and a side of Jiffy corn bread! YUMMO. I have served this dish to some true cajuns and have gotten two thumbs up. Simple. Easy. Good & CHEAP.