It was a dinner disaster. Okay, not quite a disaster, but definitely disappointing.
I was really looking forward to having my favorite slow-cooker recipe, and I was so proud of myself for preparing a hot, home-cooked meal after having been on a cooking hiatus the past couple of weeks.
It was dinner time, I removed the lid on the crock pot only to see that dinner wasn’t ready. It was not the first, but second time that I made the mistake of using unconverted rice. I was beside myself.
To salvage dinner that night, I prepared some boil-in-bag rice to put in the bottom of our bowls and hoped we could use a slotted spoon to avoid the hard, uncooked rice. Dinner wasn’t entirely crunch free, but the flavor of the meal made up for it.
The first time I made this mistake, all the leftovers were thrown out. Determined not to throw good food away, I made a last-ditch effort at rescuing the dish. Recalling that unconverted rice cooked in a crock pot needed more liquid and a longer cooking time than converted rice, I added a bit more broth, placed the lid back on the pot and left the rice to cook.
It worked! The dish was sort of mushy, but very good nonetheless. We enjoyed the meal again the next night. Thankfully, good food didn’t go to waste.
Now, with all of that said, I hope you will give this recipe a try. It’s from the Southern Living Slow-Cooker cookbook. You really can’t go wrong with Southern Living…if you follow the instructions.
creole sausage with red beans and rice
| Serves | 8 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 4 hours |
| Total time | 4 hours, 10 minutes |
| Dietary | Gluten Free |
| Meal type | Main Dish |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
| From book | Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook |
Ingredients
- 16oz packaged smoke sausage
- 10oz cans diced tomotoes with green chiles (2 cans)
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons creole seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's)
- 1 1/2 cup uncooked converted long grain rice
- 15oz can of red beans (drained)
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| cook sausage over medium heat until browned, drain | |
| Step 2 | |
| place sausage in 4-quart slow cooker | |
| Step 3 | |
| stir in tomatoes and next 3 ingredients | |
| Step 4 | |
| cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 hours | |
| Step 5 | |
| stir in beans | |
| Step 6 | |
| cover and cook on high 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated | |
No floating hand? This looks great and I love slow cooker recipes!
Sorry that it didn’t quite turn out the way you wanted it, but it seemed like you made “lemonade”….I love my slow cooker and this is a great recipe!!
Will give this a try. Sounds wonderful!
It is really good, Pat. Very flavorful.
I did my best to make lemonade. I have successfully cooked this recipe a few times, so I wasn’t willing to give up.
You made me smile this morning, Marty. I took care of the floating hand.
Sharon, it sounds great! I’m betting many of us make a special note to get the rice needed for the crockpot. It’s my favorite way to cook! Just remember when the going got tough, you made it better!:)
Sounds to good to pass up, so I will be trying this on Sunday. Thanks for sharing the recipe, but do you know about freezing left overs?
Oh boy I seem to be a dummy , but what is unconverted / converted rice?
I love any kind of sausage so this recipe is a winner in my book! I don’t use a slow cooker much anymore since my kids are gone but I used to use one all the time. Pinning for later!
Hi Helen. It never seems to fail that once I get to the grocery store, I have to call my husband and ask him to look up the right kind of rice to buy. I should write it down next time.
And thanks for the sweet encouragement!
I can’t wait to hear how you like it. From what I understand, this type of dish freezes really well and you can freeze in individual portions. I did read that when you reheat it in the microwave, to add two TBSP of water per cup of rice.
Glad you asked, Bernice. The short answer is that Converted rice has been processed and as a result will cook quicker. Unconverted rice has not been processed and requires a longer cooking time.
I can see how a slow-cooker is more suitable to certain stages of life. I think you will love this recipe. Thank you for pinning it!
So…. something like Uncle Ben’s is converted rice? But minute rice is…what? Yikes , the more I open my mouth the less informed I feel. And I am 69 yrs old, I should know this stuff! This is new territory for me.
Yes, Uncle Bens.. But the minute rice, I have no clue.
I had the opposite problem last night. I used too much water and our rice turned to porridge. Luckily I had some frozen rice from Trader Joe’s that only takes 3 minutes in the microwave but it was a huge disaster.
It’s a bummer when a meal doesn’t turn out, isn’t it? Luckily you had a plan B. I just learned something new from you..I had no idea you could buy frozen rice. BTW, I think we probably live relatively near one another.
This sounds good Sharon. Glad you were able to save it. I have not used a slow cooker in years. Maybe I should try it again.
Blessings,
Audrey Z.
Thanks for your help, Sharon. I kept reading it over and over and missing the word “tomatoes” before the “next 3″ That’s what I get for trying to rush a slow-cooker recipe! Thanks for the recipe – we’ll have it tomorrow!
No worries, Gretchen. Let me know how y’all like it.
Hi Audrey, I’ve been thinking about you. I’ve only recently started using my crock pot. It sat in the kitchen cabinets for years.