Are you ever in need of a hearty dinner for less than two dollars? The starving artist has the answer: beans and rice. Yes, I’m going with a bean theme this week. I find few things more comforting than a big, steaming bowl of New Orleans style red beans and rice. Much like the black beans I shared earlier this week, I use a potato masher to get that slow-cooked release of starch that normally takes hours of soaking and then hours of cooking on the stove top. Satisfying that slow-cooked craving in a matter of minutes – that is how the starving artist rolls. Now I am sure that my spice combination is not at authentic New Orleans, but you know what? I’m not apologizing. As always, you should modify the amounts and combination to suit your tastes and budget.
Weeknight Red Beans (Recipe PDF)
And ok, yes, you could just crack open a can of beans and eat them as they are, but come on, this isn’t Brokeback Mountain – this is the starving artist! Taking a cheap and ordinary food item like canned beans and elevating it to a tasty meal using a few ingredients you have laying around your spice rack is exactly the kind of creative cooking I live for.
What are some of the ways you spice up ordinary pantry items?
6 comments
Now THAT’s red beans! Thanks for the recipe!
Yeah girl! š
Gotta love cheap beans!
My 11 year old was fed red beans and rice at Popeye’s as a necessity on a trip recently. Yikes! I opened the Popeye’s door! This will help close the door as this sure sounds better than Popeye’s version! Thanks.
I have to tell you, I’m a Yankee, born and raised in Massachusetts, so I never even knew what a Popeye’s was until a few years ago. Thankfully I keep dodging that bullet!
[…] of my favorite starving artist past times is taking recipes that are perhaps a bit…. over-involved or over priced or just plain obnoxious and making a starving artist version that is just as tasty […]