Velveeta Easy Red Beans & Rice

Velveeta Easy Red Beans & Rice (adapted from Kraft Recipes, Servings: 5-6, Total Time: 30 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 package Morningstar Farms Sausage Links, thawed, sliced

·         1 can  (15-1/2 oz.) kidney beans, drained, rinsed

·         1 can  (15-1/2 oz.) Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

·         2 tsp. chili powder

·         2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

·         6 oz.  VELVEETA® 2%, cut up

Directions

1.      Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

2.      Add beans, tomatoes and chili powder; mix well.

3.      Stir in 2 cups water. Bring to boil.

4.      Stir in rice and VELVEETA; cover. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes or until water is almost absorbed. Stir until VELVEETA is completely melted.

A simple dish that provides a lot on flavor.  This is not spicy, so my husband likes it, but has a nice Mexican flavor from the green chilies and chili powder.  The beans cook through during the process, they are still firm, but not overly hard.  The recipe above doubles the cooking time for the rice because I have found that the original recipe’s time (5-7 minutes) gets nowhere close to absorbing the liquid or cooking the rice.  The Velveeta adds a creaminess to the dish, but you could also use Taco or Mexican shredded cheese.  A tasty dish that I will make again and again.