Black Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage

I have the most fun cooking when I am not following a recipe. I'll get an idea of something I want to make, and just start throwing ingredients together to see what happens. That's how I came up with my own Black Bean and Andouille Sausage with Rice recipe. It started as a dinner creation one night when the husband was out of town and I had no idea what I wanted for dinner. Since then it has become something we make on nights that we either don't have a dinner planned, or a night when we are running short on time. I make sure I always have the ingredients for this on hand- it's quick, easy, and so good!
Ingredients:

1 pack Trader Joe's Chicken Andouille sausage
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large pepper chopped. Doesn't matter if it's green, orange, or red.
1 large Onion chopped.
2 large or 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can plain tomato sauce or 2 cans diced tomatoes
cayenne pepper
dark chili powder (all spices to taste)
ground cumin
1-1.5 cups rice

I didn't take a picture of the ingredients listed before I started. I did take a picture after I had started cooking thanks to my husband's suggestion that I should post this recipe...



Easy method:
1. If sausage is frozen, thaw in pan of boiling water. Once thawed, slice.
2. Saute peppers and onions together in a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
until the onions start to soften.
3. Add fresh chopped tomatoes if you are using them
4. Add sliced sausage to the pan and allow the veggies and meat to cook together over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing burns.
5.Add rinsed black beans and canned tomatoes.
6. Add in your spices. Stir well to mix everything together. Let simmer on low as the rice cooks.
7. Serve over rice.

A perfect dinner for snuggling on the couch with the hubby, a glass of wine, and a movie!