Cajun Cookin' in the Shoebox

Casey and I try to cook from home as often as we can since restaurants here are crazy expensive. One of our favorite recipes is red beans & rice, which we love because it's simple, healthy, and (best of all!) inexpensive. Here are the ingredients (this makes about 4 servings):

1 lb kielbasa

2 cans red kidney beans, low salt

1 can diced tomatoes, low salt

1 large green bell pepper (or 2 small)

1 white onion

1 cup brown rice

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Ingredients for our red beans & rice recipe 

Back in Albuquerque, Casey and I would cook together... one of us would usually cut up vegetables and the other would measure spices and start cooking. Here, however, we have about 1 square foot of counter space to work with, making cooking more of an individual activity. Plus it can get dangerous having knives fly around in such a small space! I've developed other interesting habits after living here for six months, and not all of them are bad. For one, I wash dishes as I go, instead of after I'm through cooking - partly because there isn't any room for dirty dishes except the floor (which I have used in the past...) and partly because I would run out of dishes otherwise. I also have learned to use every surface as workable space, including the top of the microwave and fridge, the sink, and the stove top when it's not on. One habit that hasn't quite stuck yet is removing the dishes from the oven before pre-heating. I usually end up remembering about 15 minutes later, and trying to play Operator with the pans I've left in a 350 degree oven. Fortunately they are pretty durable! 

The one upside to having such a compact kitchen is that very little movement is required on my part. I can basically stand in one spot for a few hours and make an entire meal. Plus since I have to clean as I go, there isn't ever a huge mess at the end like I was used to last year. Lots of little interesting trade offs.

Anyway back to the recipe. The rice gets made separately and takes about 25-30 minutes, depending on how many people you're serving, so that goes on first. Next I slice the kielbasa and toss it into the frying pan for about 5 minutes, until the edges are slightly crisp. You can use turkey kielbasa to cut down on the fat content - I met in the middle and got a turkey / pork / beef kielbasa blend. If you use 100% turkey I'd recommend putting a little olive oil in the pan so the kielbasa doesn't stick.

Turkey / beef / pork blended kielbasa frying

While the kielbasa is cooking, chop up the green pepper and onion so they're ready to go, and toss them in with the meat. Cook until the onion has softened:

Next, add the remaining ingredients (kidney beans, tomatoes, and spices) and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve the red bean and kielbasa mix over the rice, and enjoy!

The final product!

Oh and if you like it a little hotter, you can add 1-2 tsp of cayenne instead of just 1/2 tsp. The best part of the recipe is that all of the ingredients (excluding spices) were about $15 - less than $4 per meal. A total steal for NYC!