CRESCENT CITY RED BEANS & RICE (CROCKPOT) RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• The night before you want to eat, check beans to be sure there are no stones then place beans in a large bowl and fill almost to the top with water. It's better to have too much water than not enough. The beans will more than double in size overnight. In the morning, drain beans in a colander and rinse well. For a quicker soak, fill a large pot with the beans and cover with water. Bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, remove from heat and let stand 1 hour before the next step. Place into crockpot the beans, ham hock, black pepper, chicken stock granules, chopped garlic, garlic salt, cajun seasoning, and bay leaves. Note: Save adding salt until the end of cook time. Cover beans with hot water (can be boiled on stove or from the tap) until fully covered. Then add an extra inch of water on top of that. This will give your beans a chance to swell even more during cooking. Cover. Sauté onions and bell-pepper just until they begin to cook. Add these to the beans and stir. If you are going to be gone all day, cook beans on low setting for 6 to 8 hours. If you will be around to stir, cook them on high until they are almost fully cooked, about 4 or 5 hours. Then turn them down to low for the last bit of cooking. When beans are fully cooked, remove bay leaves (if you can find them all), add butter and stir. Mash beans in the crock pot with a potato masher until they reach desired thickness. Add salt to taste. It may not take much for you. Also add a bit more fresh ground pepper. Put your rice on to cook. Slice smoked sausage and cook in a medium-hot cast iron skillet until nicely brown and starting to emit those nice juices. Add sausages to crock pot and stir. Put rice in bowls and top with red beans.