Slow-Cooker Cuban Red Beans and Rice

Can you tell how much we love beans around here?  They are a great way to get protein and fiber, and very inexpensive!  Lately, I am really loving making them in my slow-cooker.  That enables me to use dried beans and avoid the sodium that is added in canned beans.  I used red kidney beans in this recipe, but you could also try using black beans.  It's a delicious recipe -- lots of flavor from the smoky cumin and sweet fennel seeds.  There is just a little bit of heat to this, but feel free to top it with lots of hot sauce, the way that we did!  Best of all, this is really easy to throw together!  I soaked my beans the night before, and I put together the broth, water, peppers, and seasonings at the same time.  I put them in a large Tupperware container in the fridge, and then just threw everything into the slow-cooker before I left the house in the morning.  I came home, just made a little quick-cooking brown rice, and had a yummy, warm dinner to fill my belly on a chilly fall evening.

As I mention, I served this with a little hot sauce on top (actually, I used a Chinese chile-garlic sauce).  This would also be cooked topped with cilantro, a few bacon crumbles, or sour cream.  We ate this as a one-dish dinner, but a few sauteed plantains or a green salad would make a great side dish!

Slow-Cooker Cuban Red Beans and Rice
serves 10
adapted from The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites

Ingredients:

1 pound dried red kidney beans
2 cups water
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (to make this vegetarian, you can use vegetable broth)
2 cup chopped onion (about 2 small white onions)
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped Cubanelle pepper
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp fennel seeds
4 tsp cumin (or you can use 2 tsp cumin + 2 tsp coriander)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (drained if you prefer)
5 cups hot cooked rice (I used brown minute rice)
Hot sauce, cilantro, bacon, sour cream to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Sort and wash beans and place in a large bowl.  Cover with water by 2 inches, and leave overnight (or at least 8 hours).  Drain.
2. Combine beans, 2 cups water, and next 10 ingredients (through oregano).  You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate in a container, or you can do this right into your slow-cooker before cooking.  Place in an electric slow-cooker.  Cover, and cook on HIGH for 5 and 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender.  Add the vinegar and tomatoes before serving.  (I cooked mine an addition 30 minutes on HIGH at this point to to heat through the tomatoes, but you do not have to.)  Serve over hot cooked rice.  A serving is 1 cup of the bean mixture and 1/2 cup of rice.
3. Garnish to taste with hot sauce, bacon crumbles, cilantro, or sour cream.