Red Beans & Rice

1 lb bag of red beans
Smoked sausage (spicy)
1 onion
3 to 4 stalks of celery
1 bell pepper
2 bay leaves

Season to taste:
Tony's Creole seasoning (salty)
Salt
Garlic powder

No need to soak beans overnight. Brown sausage. Add to Crockpot with the washed beans and bay leaves. Cook vegetables until soft and add them to Crockpot. Fill with water to just cover all ingredients. Watch water level while cooking, because beans soak up water more hot water may need to be added. Cook on high for the first hour and then on low for at least 2 ½ hours. Serve with rice.

Source: Terry S (a friend I've lost touch with over the years)

***COMMENTS: This is the easiest Red Bean Recipe you'll ever come across. No more worrying about soaking your beans overnight. What a pain! Just throw everything together in the crockpot and let it do it's thing.

One small warning though. The reason you put the seasonings in at the end is because any kind of salt added before the beans are cooked kind of make the beans tough. You would still be able to soften them up...but it would take double the time. That being said...there have been a couple times where it seems my beans behave this way...they take longer than normal to cook. I really think that it had to do with my sausage. I think the brand I was using was much saltier than others I'd used in the past. So kinda watch for this.

Lastly, it's always better to start your beans way early and have to rewarm them than to have them still tough when everyone is hungry. This is a GREAT recipe though. Everyone likes it!