Great, inexpensive comfort food - omit the ground turkey and use vegetable broth for a vegetarian/vegan meal

The Crock-pot makes life so much easier. Put all the ingredients in the pot and turn on the slow-cooker. Then it cooks all day to be glorious slow-cooked perfection by supper time.

The stew is really inexpensive. I think I spent less than $10 for the entire meal, and it serves 6 people.
It's a hearty, filling meal and easy to make. The only thing you need to do is remember to soak the red beans before making the stew. I soaked mine in the slow-cooker pot overnight, dumped out the water in the morning, and added the remaining ingredients back to the pot. That's the only "complicated" step, and I'd hardly say it's complicated.
This time I made it with ground turkey meat + added spices instead of sausage because I didn't have any.
Also, if you can't find wild rice {you want to get regular wild rice without added seasonings or salt} then you could use regular brown rice and I think it'd still taste just as good.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my friends and I did!

Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried kidney beans
- 5 cups water
- 1 chicken bouillon cube or vegetarian bouillon cube
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon salt omit if not using low-sodium bouillon, divided
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium onion about 1-1½ cups, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice not instant, or regular brown rice
- 1½ teaspoon salt-free Cajun spice blend divided
- 1 lb ground turkey or ground turkey breast
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- hot sauce to taste
Instructions
- Put the dried beans in a pot or the slow-cooker pot (so you don't have to dirty another dish), and cover them with cold water. Let soak for at least 8 hours. Drain. Set aside.
- In the slow-cooker pot, add the beans, water, bouillon cube, minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, bay leaf, onion, red bell pepper, liquid smoke, uncooked rice, and 1 teaspoon salt-free Cajun seasoning blend. Stir. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or High for 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the ground turkey meat over medium to medium-high heat. Season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon salt-free Cajun seasoning blend, garlic powder, and pepper. Drain fat. Set aside.
- After 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high, stir in the parsley flakes, red wine vinegar, and cooked ground turkey meat. Cover and cook on High for 30-60 more minutes. Add hot sauce and red wine vinegar to taste. Serve & enjoy!
Notes
Note: this is delicious as leftovers and freezes well
Meme
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