Monday Red Beans N' Rice (crock Pot)

Total Time: 8 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 lb red beans
• 1 (16 ounce) package lamb, pickled (savoie's is my favorite)
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme, picked and chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• water
• salt
• pepper
• cayenne pepper
• 2 cups rice
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

Recipe

• 1 "hot soak" the beans - rinse the beans in a colander, boil a pot of water, add beans, return to boil, cover, and remove from heat. keep covered for an hour.
• 2 in the meantime, dice the celery, pepper, onion, and garlic.
• 3 saute the veggies in vegetable oil until the onions are translucent and everything is beginning to caramelize.
• 4 chop the lamb into 1 inch cubes.
• 5 drain and rinse the beans.
• 6 put the veggies, beans, lamb, thyme, and bay leaves into the crock pot. barely cover with water.
• 7 depending on your brand of pickled lamb, you may need more or less salt. i like to wait until the end to salt, just to make sure it's not too salty. ditto on black and cayenne pepper - wait until almost done, and season to taste.
• 8 cook on high for 6-8 hours.
• 9 you'll know it's done when the beans are soft and the lamb falls apart. mash it up a bit so the meat is incorporated and some of the beans are mashed.
• 10 cook rice according to package directions, but use veggie stock instead of water for a more flavorful rice.
• 11 serve a scoop of beans over a scoop of rice and enjoy!