Tonight I prepared Red Beans and Rice. We completed the meal with fresh pineapple. It was delicious. The meal reminds so much of the time when I was in the Peace Corps. We were taught that beans and rice made a complete protein. It was a good thing since it was a staple meal in the world I lived in for two years. In fact, there was a 3 month period of time when the IMF (International Monetary Fund) called for Zaire to demonetize its currency. That meant that the money any of us had on hand was suddenly worthless. And then the banks were closed...so I lived on beans and rice for 3 months solid until the Peace Corps could get money to me. Beans and rice kept me going...but it gets really old, day after day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
For an occasional dinner it is an easy and tasty meal. My recipe came from the the 400 Calorie Fix cookbook. To give the dish the smoked flavor normally provided by ham hocks it calls for Liquid Smoke. I thought is added a great taste to the dish. I found the recipe on line (red beans & rice). It calls for a serving of 1 1/2 cups of the bean mixture over 1/2 cup of brown rice for 376 calories. Add a slice of pineapple to the meal for 85 calories and you have a perfect dinner for a total of 461 calories.
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