Sausage & Beans with Rice

Mmmm... tasty! I love rice and beans, but it can easily turn into a very unhealthy meal. I used a low-fat turkey sausage to drop the fat and calories in this and cut the brown sugar down a bit from the 1/4 cup it calls for. You could use the Splenda brown sugar blend, but you wouldn't want to use more than a tablespoon or so - it's much, much sweeter than regular brown sugar. I really like the slight sweetness to this dish. It made for a nice change of pace from typical rice and beans recipes.



Sausage & Beans with Rice

2/3 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-in slices
1 16-oz can kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 16-oz can great northern beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup instant brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tbsp. corn syrup
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, saute the onion, green pepper and garlic in oil until softened. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Serves 6.