Ghoulish Halloween Dinner: Bat Kidneys and Maggots with Sliced Ogre Fingers (or just the plain-jane "Red Beans and Rice with Sausage" will work too!)

The last day of October! You know what that means... cooler weather and HALLOWEEN!!! So, since I don't have any little ones to take trick-or-treating, I will have to be festive in other ways. Tonight I am going to share my Ghoulish Halloween Dish. We are having Bat Kidneys and Maggots with Sliced Ogre Fingers (known to the less festive as Red Beans and Rice with Polish Sausage.) I found this recipe as a submission from my mother into our "Fleming Family Cookbook." It is a lot easier than I thought it would be! I did have a set back, but I think it actually made the dish so much easier. I was going to cook this a couple of nights ago, but I didn't have an onion. I had already soaked the beans, so I just put them in a freezer Ziploc bag, and froze them. Tonight, I just pulled them out and dropped them in the pot. I think I will always keep the amount of red beans I need soaked and frozen so I can make Red Beans and Rice at the last minute instead of having to wait for them to soak.

On to what you really want to know! Here is what you will need to make this:

• 1 lb (or 2 cups) dry kidney beans 
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• dash of red (cayenne) pepper
• 2 lbs polish sausage, cut up (I used Cajun Andouille from the local meat market.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• rice (I used Minute Rice to save some time)

First, you wash and soak the beans for 2 hours. If you would like to take my suggestion, put them in a freezer Ziploc to have them on hand when you are ready to make Red Beans and Rice in the future. 

(I found this really amazing way to chop onion. Some of you may have known this, but like I mentioned in my last post, I'm trying to help people like me that have no idea about cooking. After peeling the onion, slice it without cutting all of the way through to the other side. Leave a little bit of onion to be like the binding on a book. Twist the onion a quarter turn {where your vertical slices are now horizontal} and repeat the pattern so that you have vertical and horizontal cuts. Next, turn the onion on its side. Slice it like you would to put on a sandwich, and it will come out in diced pieces! So awesome and no tears!!!)

Now, add the ingredients to the pot. You do not need to make a mixing bowl dirty. Once it is in the pot, you can stir it all together. I add the bay leaves last so that I don't break them into pieces. After I stir the other ingredients together, I place the leaves apart from each other in the pot. You are going to take the bay leaves out before serving, so remember how many bay leaves you put in the dish. 

Once you put all of the ingredients in the pot, only add enough water to cover the beans and sausage. If you add too much, it will be watery and it won't thicken like it is supposed to. Cook medium to low heat for about two to three hours or until the beans are done (soft). Serve over rice. 

I used Minute Rice, and the instructions are on the package, but you can follow this recipe for regular rice:

RICE: 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 Tbsp margarine, 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to boil on high, uncovered. Stir. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook 20 minutes. 

Don't forget to take out the Bay Leaves!!

I hope you enjoy your yummy Red Beans and Rice (or Bat Kidneys and Maggots with Sliced Ogre Fingers for the spooky meal menu)!! 

Nutrition Information: Serving Size = 1 cup beans & 1/2 cup rice       Yields = 10 servings
Facts are per serving (includes white minute rice)
529 calories. 57g carbs. 26g fat. 24g protein. 946mg sodium

Disclaimer: I apologize for the terrible photos. I took the pictures with an iPad. My camera was lost in one of my many moves.