Cookbook:Beans and Rice

This recipe for beans and rice is great to make on the weekend and bring to work during the week. It's also great for entertaining on a budget, since you can feed 5 or 6 people for less than ten dollars. It is a vegan adaptation of cajun rice and beans, similar to gallo pinto.

Ingredients

 * 1 package (16 oz) dry beans (kidney or black beans preferred)
 * 1 onion, chopped
 * 1 green bell pepper, chopped
 * 1 celery stalk, sliced thin
 * 1 bulb garlic, minced
 * 2 bay leaves
 * 1 tsp ground cumin
 * 1 tsp chili powder
 * 1 tsp ground basil
 * Olive oil
 * Salt to taste
 * Pepper, to taste
 * 1–2 whole dried or fresh hot peppers (optional)
 * 1–2 cups rice

Beans

 * 1) Soak beans overnight, or, bring to a boil and let sit for one hour.
 * 2) In a Dutch oven or large pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until onions are translucent.
 * 3) Add green pepper and celery, and sauté for a few minutes more.
 * 4) Add beans and enough water to cover all ingredients.
 * 5) Add spices, then bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until done (1–2 hours, depending on the age of your beans).

Rice

 * 1) Add rice and twice as much water to a pot (i.e. 1 cup rice + 2 cups water).
 * 2) Bring to a rolling boil, and cook until the water has boiled down to the level of the rice.
 * 3) Reduce heat to a light simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Serving

 * 1) Serve the beans over the rice and enjoy! It is also very tasty with cornbread.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * You can use canned beans instead of dry. This greatly reduces cooking time, but doesn't allow for the flavor to soak into the beans as well.
 * To make this in a crockpot, sauté the vegetables in a pan, then add all ingredients (except rice) to the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
 * You can make this in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.