Red Beans & Rice

I have never made and never had red beans and rice before so this was a total experiment. I did the beans in the crock pot. Since I work during the day and I usually do not have 2 hours on a week night to cook dinner. It came out really good and so easy. I took a traditional recipe that I found and changed some things and added cheddarwurst. I love to add cheddarwurst to spicy dishes, it just goes well with them. Also I made a box of Rice a Roni herb and butter as the rice, but I would think you can use whatever you like.

Ingredients:
16 ounces dry red beans, soaked overnight
1 yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons Creole Seasoning, you can add more or less depending on your taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
2 spicy sausages, andouille or linguica diced
3 cheddarwurst diced
2 cups chicken broth

Make It:
Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat, spray with cooking spray. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and celery to pan. Cook stirring often until softened. Pour beans into crock pot. Pour vegetable mixture over beans. Place saucepan back over heat and add sausage to the pan, cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour sausage into crock pot. Add creole seasoning, salt, bay leaves and thyme to crock pot. Pour into crock pot water and broth, stir to combine. Cover and set on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove lid and using a potato masher, mash 1/3 of the beans in the crock pot, this gives them a creamy consistency. Add cheddarwurst, stir to combine. Cover and cook for 15 to 30 more minutes with the crock pot set on high. Uncover and serve over rice. Enjoy!