Food has been on my mind a lot lately. Of course that is probably not a huge surprise to many people, I run a food and cooking website after all. Food is often on my mind. So I guess it is something more specifically about food that I have been thinking about. I have been thinking about the types of food we serve our families and how things are changing with food.
We are all dealing with busy schedules. And not only that we are all dealing with the rise of grocery prices. Yes, the rise in grocery prices. Has anyone else noticed the price of food lately? It seems like I am spending more money only to leave the store with less food.
Along with busy schedules and rising food costs, we are also all trying to serve our family healthy family friendly meals. Combining those three things into kitchen life can be quite a challenge. Or maybe more of an adventure.
Yes, I would say that serving healthy, home cooked meals, without breaking the budget, can be quite an adventure, but I have learned that adventures can be fun. Really they can be fun, especially kitchen adventures.
So let’s take busy schedules and rising grocery prices and look at them as an adventure, not a challenge.
Over the last few months I have found myself turning more and more to the basic, more old fashioned, simple recipes. Many of the recipes on my site are pretty quick and easy and use basic ingredients, but I have found myself turning even more to these types of recipes. I need more budget, family friendly, quick and easy meals just like all of you.
As I am cooking more and more of these types of recipes, I am sure many of them will find there way here to be shared with you all. After all this site really is a look into my kitchen and I know many of you are dealing with the same struggles I am.
Today’s recipe is one of those recipes that is so quick and easy to make, yet very budget friendly. It uses basic ingredients that almost everyone has on hand. And it is full of flavor.
This recipe contains beans and rice. Some of you may be thinking, really beans and rice?! Beans and rice often get talked about in a negative way, but they really are a great budget friendly meal that can be delicious.
Beans and rice are a common combination, especially in the southern part of the United States. There are many ways to cook beans and rice. You can vary the beans. You can vary the meat. You can cook it all day or you can do more of a quick cook method using canned beans.
This recipe today keeps the quick and easy in mind and also uses ground sausage, which is something I almost always have in the freezer. If you like food really spicy, like my husband does, simply add a little extra chili powder to this or add some hot sauce.
Simple, easy, and delicious!
And what do you all think, do you want to see more quick and easy budget friendly meals like this?
Simple Sausage and Beans Over Rice
Simple Sausage and Beans is an easy dinner using basic pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1- 14 ounce can tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- cooked rice
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook sausage, onions, and green pepper until meat is browned and vegetables are tender. Drain off any fat.
- Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Add remaining ingredients, except rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
If you are gluten free be sure to read labels to be sure the ingredients like sausage are gluten free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 1025mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 11g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Even though I mostly cook for one, I try to stretch the grocery budget and make dishes that freeze well. Your Simple Sausage and Beans over Rice is something I would like, but for myself, I would half the amount of sausage and add another can of beans to stretch the recipe to a couple more servings. This winter I have done this with chili and taco soup and I find I don’t really miss the extra meat. And I’m cooking more beans from dried too.
This is one of those meals you could easily had more beans to. And I love meals like this because the leftovers are just as good as the first day so it is perfect for cooking for one or two people. Cooking dried beans is something I do as well. I need to do a post on that soon because it is a big money saving tip.
With food prices on the rise, it is getting very hard to stretch my food budget. In addition, our family has gone gluten free . So far, I’ve been sticking to the basics and making a lot of things from scratch. But there are days when I need to to be quick and easy. I would LOVE to see more recipes like this!
Rising grocery prices are even harder for those of us that deal with food issues. Food allergies are not easy on the budget! Meals like this that are everyday food that just happens to be gluten free are great. I will try to share more and more of them.
I’m challenged to stretch my budget too. We mostly eat vegetarian and fish (one teen will only eat that and it is just easier to make one meal). Everyone else eats some meat here and there. It is healthy! I just made a variation of a beans and rice last night and also cooked the beans from dry. I think I will need to cook a batch or two a week of dry beans to get a stockpile and would love tips on how to store the cooked beans so they are easiest to use.
Beans freeze very well! Just cool, package in a container with a tight fitting lid in a size right for your family needs, then label with kind of beans, amount, and date. Cooked beans can be kept frozen for up to 6 months.
I’ll speak for those who may be afraid to and be open with you. Our family does not like beans. A couple of us do not even like ground beef. It has to do with the gritty texture in our mouth. And, my husband wants our family to avoid red meats. This is a glimpse of how our family eats frugally…dark meat chicken tacos, dark meat chicken/veggies over rice/pasta (so many combos and international sauces), baked chicken drumsticks/mash potatoes/veggies (vary the seasonings), grilled chicken sandwiches, fried chicken using 1/2 inch of oil in pot, chicken kabob, chicken noodle soup, chicken minestrone soup without beans, etc. But, we don’t want to dictate what your family eats. I’m following you for your amazing baked sweets and will continue to focus on that.
I don’t mind you being honest at all. And there are a lot of inexpensive meals out there that don’t involve beans and I plan to share some of them. There are lots of ways to stretch meat besides beans. And chicken is a great frugal meal and is often on sale and it is really versatile, so I totally agree with you on that one. And I will always share plenty of baked goods and sweet type recipes. Those are always the most fun to make and eat. 🙂
I’m all over any advice about a sale or versatility, so definitely bring it on. Our local Walmart sells large bulk bags of leg quarters for 69 cents/lb regular price too! I immediately use a lot of it for chicken broth. The rest, we store in our upright freezer, which has saved us so much money (i.e. we look for sales and then prolong it’s shelf-life). Once in a while, we will get a poor man’s cut of steak…flat iron (about $3.99/lb)…or a large bag of Tilapia for about $5 at Winco…and works with all kinds of recipes. as a special treat.
This recipe looks delish!
I like to make a big pot of pinto beans and then freeze in about 3 cup-portions which I use for tacos, burritos, cheese beans, brown bag burritos, and I also use them when I make chili (instead of buying canned beans). I’ve read about BPA in cans and figure that it is a double plus to not use canned, plus saving money by using dried beans. This recipe will be another great recipe I can try.
You say “ground sausage”. Do you mean breakfast sausage? I didn’t grow up eating much sausage although I LOVE it so I never know for sure what to get.
I also keep single servings of cooked rice in my freezer (it thaws better from frozen than in the fridge) and I could use the beans, the rice, and some sausage and make a great meal.
Thanks for the inspiration! Sounds delish and I can’t wait to try it, which I will be doing soon!
Yes I use ground breakfast sausage. And I agree cooked beans freeze great!