Chicken with Red Beans and Rice

So I asked Jake what he wanted me to make and he said red beans and rice. So I immediately went online to look up a recipe. I found absolutely nothing. I got a general idea of what goes into red beans and rice. It's sausage, chicken, red beans, and rice. Plus of course cajun spice. Now Jake is from Louisiana. He grew up there. He grew up with Cajun cuisine, so I was a little nervous I wouldn't do a very good job. I look up what actually made up "Cajun spices" because I figured I'd just buy some of that and pretty much use it as a crutch to make the meal taste good. I learned that "Cajun Spice" is pretty much like saying cayenne pepper with some garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Weak. So I saved some money and time and just got some cayenne pepper. I decided to jump blindly into this recipe and just go with my instincts. What happened? I made a kick ass recipe that Jake would proudly say his girlfriend made. :D

Ingredients:

• Cayenne Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Garlic (6 cloves)
• Red Onion (1 large)
• Andouille Sausage (12 oz or more) ~ Cajun style andouille sausage (chef bruce aidells- it was okay, it didn't really add that much flavor. And it was pork which I wasn't too happy with. it didn't add as much flavor as I assumed. I probably wont use it next time.)
• Red Beans 60 oz (4 cans)~ S & W Premium Louisiana Style Red Beans. (It didn't really add much flavor at all, but it was cheaper and faster than buying uncooked beans. IT did add a nice sauce for the meal.)
• Chicken 5lbs (I used thighs, they are juicy and tender. You can use whatever you like.)
• White Rice 2 lbs
• Oil

1. In a large pot put in 6 cups of water. Add the chicken to the water as well as garlic powder, onion powder, and A LOT of cayenne pepper. Put a lid on the pot and put it at high heat.
2. After the chicken is cook through carefully (with tongs) take the chicken out and spread it out to cool off. 
3. Your water you used to boil the chicken should still be boiling, add your 2 lbs of rice and turn down to simmer, put a lid on it and cook for about 25 minutes. (Do NOT take the lid off. You're going to keep it on even after it is done cooking and you turn it off. You want all the liquid to be gone! :D)
4. In a medium/large pot pour some oil and throw in a large diced Red Onion. Cook the onion until it is translucent. Remove the onions and set aside in a bowl. 
5. In the same pot you used to cook the onions add your adouille sausage sliced at an angel into the pan and on a med/high heat brown the sausage. (I de-boned and shredded the chicken while the sausage was browning. Remember to take the skin off as well. Save the skin and bones, you can make more chicken broth with them :D)
6. After the sausage is browned to your liking, add the onions again and some crushed/finely diced garlic (as much as you like) stir well. Just hit the garlic with the heat, you don't want it to burn or brown.
7. Add your Red Beans. Cover your pot and bring to a bowl and let simmer. 
8. Finish up shredding your chicken (you have 5 lbs, I am assuming you couldn't finish it while the sausage was browning) Add your chicken to your red beans. Stir well. Turn the heat off and cover.
9. Your Rice should be done, If you added enough cayenne you should have a nice reddish spicy rice. Pour your bean/chicken/sausage mixture in and stir very well.

And that's it! It's fun easy and delicious. The recipe took me 2 hours. That include prep, boiling the chicken (Which takes about 30 minutes or so. Maybe a little more.) and shredding the chicken (Which is also a bit time consuming). This meal should last a LONG time, and it was $25. It is a really yummy recipe and you can make some great chicken broth with the bones, fat, and skin of the chicken. Mmmm Mmmm, that's some good Louisiana cookin'. Bon appetit. :D