Mondays

Mondays are for washing and red beans. Charlie doesn't like beans, but he tells me that he likes them simmering on the stove. I always feel like I smell of red beans for the day if I cook up a pot. But Charlie...."It feels homey," he says. I'll settle for that for now, but I have an agenda to make a bean eater out of him.

Beans are healthy, and beans are easy and cheap! $1.05 a pound (at Whole Foods!) and another buck for the seasoning packet. I like them without any rice, but how cheap and easy is rice, right? It is the quintessential south Louisiana meal.

Sometimes it crosses my mind to freeze some beans, but then I realize that there's really no need since they are SO simple.

Ingredients:

• Seasoning packet
  

• 1 lb of Camellia red beans
  

• Salt
• Browned onion and sausage, if I'm feeling adventurous

Directions:

• Soak beans overnight
• Drain in morning
• Cover with water and add salt and seasoning
  
• Simmer for several hours (all day), adding water as necessary
• Mash a few beans on the side of the pot to help give a creamy texture
  

Note: This can be done in the crock pot if you're not home washing clothes all day, but beans aren't as creamy.