cooking4carnivores

Parenting books, blogs, and magazines have lots of helpful tips and tricks. On everything from potty training to temper tantrums they have lists from experts on how to handle any situation. What should you pack to take to the beach, how should you address body image with your daughter, what to feed a picky eater, and so on. But if we are all to be honest, most of it we have to make it up as we go. When my son is screaming in the store, I may offer him a banana from the produce section and grab another so I can pay for his impromptu snack. If my daughter insists on wearing her rain coat on a sunny day, I just let it slide. There are no hard and fast rules on this parenting thing.

Cooking can be the same way. I have some tried and true recipes that I have memorized by heart. I have others I am dying to try from my newest cookbooks. But on some nights, I just look in the pantry and make it up as I go. That's exactly what I did with this rice and beans dish.

You will need to following (to make this dish for both vegheads and carnivores):

2 cups of organic brown rice
1 can of chili beans in sauce
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 large yellow onion, diced
1 tblsp of olive oil
salt & pepper
1 package of Italian sausage
1 package of soy sausage

Cook brown rice in rice cooker. Heat oil in large deep skillet. Add in onion and peppers. Cook til tender. Add in beans with sauce. In the meantime, cook the real and fake sausages in the own skillets. Once the rice is done add it to the mixture with the beans and veggies. Stir until well combined. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve in large bowls and top with slices of sausage.

Turns out the improvised dish was a hit with everyone (well, the carnivore balked a bit at all the peppers). Sometimes you just have to make it up as you go.