Red Beans And Rice

Ingredients

4 slices Smoked Bacon
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 Melissa's Perfect Sweet Onion -- diced
1 Red Bell Pepper -- diced
1 Green Bell Pepper -- diced
2 stalks Celery -- diced
2 cloves Melissa's Peeled Garlic -- minced
1 Fresh Jalapeno Pepper -- diced
2 packages Melissa's Steamed Red Kidney Beans
3 Bay Leaves
as needed Chicken Broth
to taste Melissa's Organic Chile Seasoning Grinder

For The Rice:

1 tablespoon Bacon Grease
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1/2 Melissa's Perfect Sweet Onion -- diced small
2 cloves Melissa's Peeled Garlic -- minced
1 1/2 cups Long Grain Rice
3 cups Chicken Broth
to taste Melissa's Organic Chile Seasoning Grinder
to taste Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Directions

Fry the bacon in a pan until crisp. Drain on paper towels and reserve the bacon grease.

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onion, red and green bell peppers, celery, garlic and jalapeno pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Next, crumble the bacon and add to the pot. Add the beans, bay leaves and enough broth to cover and season with the chile grinder. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes.

While the beans are simmering, make the rice.

In a medium size pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon grease and melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic and rice and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken broth and season with the chile grinder and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until rice is just tender.

To serve, place rice in individual serving bowls and top with the red beans.