Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice

Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice is a delicious dinner that the family will love! And frugal has never tasted so good, so why not help the food budget, stay on track this week? 

Perfect for a cold day, or any day beans are on the menu! 

Today is cold and snowy here on our little homestead. In and out during the day to tend to the hens or walk the dog, can chill you to the bone! A hot meal with warming foods are needed! Fortunately, I have a ham bone in the freezer and jars of dry beans on the pantry shelves. So today we are going to cook up some red beans...

While we do meal plan from time to time, often what is stocked in the pantry is the deciding factor in what will be made for dinner. Especially when we have a turn in the weather and we want something a bit heartier! Tonight a pot of Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice will be on our dinner table. Delicious and it won't require a trip to the grocery store. 

Yep, more praise for a well stocked pantry. 

It is evident from the many times I have made reference to a well-stocked pantry, that we use our pantry and root cellar to help keep food costs down. With the recent change in food prices, my pantry and root cellar are a saving grace to keep our food budget on track. And I know that if we are seeing food prices rise, you and your family are as well. When that happens, we eat less meat and more beans...the best part? Beans are good for you, and this pot of beans is delicious!

You will find many recipes for beans in the archives, here at Scratch Made Food! 

Including this much simpler dish of Red Beans with Garlic and Red Wine. We eat and enjoy beans often because they are very versatile, still inexpensive, and they always taste great. Since they are still are inexpensive, possibly, they might not get the respect they deserve. But I have a little trick, and here it is...bring out the nice serving pieces when serving beans! Always present them with the same pride and attention to detail as you do with any recipe calling for meat...Why?

Because beans are a frugal yet delicious alternative to meat. 

And beans take well to using meat as part of the seasoning and not as the star attraction. And a delicious bean dish is still the easiest way to offer a hearty dinner, full of flavor but still low in cost. They are filling, a good source of fiber, and full of the minerals that we all need. Plus they really do taste great, like this recipe for Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice! as with any recipe with a depth of flavor, there are a couple of steps, but the flavor is so worth it!

Some thoughts on this recipe:

If you forgot to soak your beans overnight, do a quick soak and proceed. 

Take the time needed to sauté the onions and flour together into a rich golden roux. 

For an easy presentation, use an ice cream scoop for the rice!

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• red beans
• ham bone or ham hocks
• onions
• olive oil
• flour
• green peppers
• bay leaf
• garlic
• red wine
• salt
• pepper
• water
• fresh parsley
• Carrot Brown Rice our recipe found here. 

You will also need the following:

• slow cooker
• sauté pan
• kitchen knife
• kitchen spoon
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• tongs
• broiler pan
• medium-sized saucepan with lid
• brown paper bag

Now we are ready to begin!

Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice  
by the seat of my pants
inspired by:  Beverly's Back Porch (this blog is no longer active)

1 pound of red beans, soaked, drained, and rinsed
1 ham bone or 2 hocks
1 large or 2 regular onions, diced
4 - 6 T olive oil
4 T flour
1 -2 red or green pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c red wine
6 or more cups of water
salt 

fresh ground pepper

fresh parsley for serving

Carrot Brown Rice.

Place the green peppers on a broiler pan, and broil until dark golden brown, turning as needed, until the entire pepper has been roasted. 

Place the roasted peppers into the brown paper bag, roll down the top of the bag to close the bag. The peppers will "sweat" in the paper bag and this will make them easier to peel. Set aside until cool enough to handle. 

Dice the onions into 1/2 inch dice. Sauté the diced onion in olive oil, starting with 3 T oil. When the onions are beginning to golden, stir in the flour and the remaining oil as needed. Reduce heat to low and sauté until the roux is golden and the onions smell like heaven!

Mince the garlic. Peel, and deseed the roasted peppers, then dice, set both aside. Drain and rinse the soaked beans. 

Place the ham bone into the bottom of the crockpot, add the sautéed onions, diced green pepper, drained beans, and all remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8 hours or until beans are fully cooked. 

Remove ham bone and any large pieces of ham, dice the meat (or shred by hand) and return to the beans. 

Taste the broth covering the beans adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the Carrot Rice.

Storage options for Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice. Store separately covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. The beans may be frozen, thaw in the refrigerator before reheating. I do not recommend freezing the rice due to a loss of texture when thawed.

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Rice has been included below. 

You may also enjoy: 

White Beans with Ground Beef and Tomato Sauce. 

#wholefoodingredients

#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily

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Printable "copy and paste" version:

Old Fashioned Red Beans and Ham with Carrot Brown Rice.  
by the seat of my pants
inspired by:  Beverly's Back Porch (this blog is no longer active)

1 pound of red beans, soaked, drained, and rinsed
1 ham bone or 2 hocks
1 large or 2 regular onions, diced
4 - 6 T olive oil
4 T flour
1 -2 red or green pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c red wine
6 or more cups of water
salt 

fresh ground pepper

fresh parsley for serving

Carrot Brown Rice. 

Place the green peppers on a broiler pan, and broil until dark golden brown, turning as needed, until the entire pepper has been roasted. 

Place the roasted peppers into the brown paper bag, roll down the top of the bag to close the bag. The peppers will "sweat" in the paper bag and this will make them easier to peel. Set aside until cool enough to handle. 

Dice the onions into 1/2 inch dice. Sauté the diced onion in olive oil, starting with 3 T oil. When the onions are beginning to golden, stir in the flour and the remaining oil as needed. Reduce heat to low and sauté until the roux is golden and the onions smell like heaven!

Mince the garlic. Peel, and deseed the roasted peppers, then dice, set both aside. Drain and rinse the soaked beans. 

Place the ham bone into the bottom of the crockpot, add the sautéed onions, diced green pepper, drained beans, and all remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8 hours or until beans are fully cooked. 

Remove ham bone and any large pieces of ham, dice the meat (or shred by hand) and return to the beans. 

Taste the broth covering the beans adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the Carrot Rice.

Storage options for Red Beans with Ham and Carrot Rice. Store separately covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. The beans may be frozen, thaw in the refrigerator before reheating. I do not recommend freezing the rice due to a loss of texture when thawed. 

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