Sausage & Bean Dinner

Ohhh ohhh ohhh. I've been eagerly waiting to do this recipe again. It's one of my super easy fall favorites AND it's great if you want to make ahead and freeze too.

The dried mustard and hint of honey is the perfect combo in this hearty concoction. PS...you'll notice we added rice. If I were going to freeze it, I would have left that out and added it whenever I ended up cooking it. You could throw it into the bag anyways (uncooked). It will cook up in the crock pot when needed.

Sausage & Bean Dinner

~ Ingredients ~

Serves 6

• 1 lb ground pork 
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 can butter beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1 can garbanzo beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1 can dark red kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with pepper & onions
• 1.5 - 2 cups of rice

~ Directions ~ 

First things first. Brown your pork sausage. We always season it with salt and pepper. You'll notice I forgot the onion this time around. I had Aaron brown the meat while I was on my way home. Totally forgot to ask him to prep the onion. Still good though!

While you are browning your sausage (hehe), put a large pot on medium-high heat and add all the beans, tomatoes, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the sausage, about 16 ounces of water, and about 1.5 to 2 cups of rice. 

Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.

Test it before serving and see if you need any added seasoning and to make sure the rice is cooked through.

Finished product! This is really good, hearty, and filling. Enough for a few leftovers too. If you like, you can eat this with chips or throw a little shredded cheese on it too. We love that :)

Mangia! 

~ Freezer Directions ~

Brown the meat and drain when done.

Separate the meat and all the ingredients evenly into two gallon-sized bags.

Lay flat in a pan or on a cookie sheet and put into freezer. Freezing them flat saves space.

When ready to use, take out the night before and thaw in fridge. You can either put the meal into a crockpot on low for 4-6 hours OR you could cook it on the stove in about 60 minutes. 

Whichever way you go, make sure to add the 16 ounces or more of water and the rice if you didn't add it to the bag.

Should be good for at least 2 months in the freezer.

Enjoy!