Hey, I can help with that! Red beans and rice w/ sausage is always a good Cajun staple, I think. And it's fairly easy to make, too. I'll give you the 'cheat' version so you don't have to soak the beans overnight and boil them forever:
First, make sure the rice is white rice, and very fluffy. (We're not going for healthy here.) Make a big pot of rice as you will use about 1/2 to 2/3 scoop of rice for every big ladle of beans. Make sure you salt the rice when you boil the water.
Chop onion, celery and bell pepper very fine. In a skillet, gently saute in oil (I like olive oil best), until onion and celery are almost clear. (onion, celery and bell pepper are like the cornerstone of most cajun recipes.) Slice and brown your sausage in the mixture, just to get the juices and to brown the outsides of the sausage. Set aside.
Then drain and dump in as many cans of red (kidney) beans as you need into a big pot. Add a little water, to almost cover the beans. If you want to go the original way, buy dried beans and soak them overnight, changing out the water every now and then. But the canned ones do just as well and are a lot quicker to cook.
Pour the bell pepper mix, including the juice and the sausage, into the beans. Salt to taste. (I don't use a lot of salt in the beans since I put an adequate amount in the rice.)
The original way is to simmer everything all day. Here's the trick for not having to simmer: Bring everything to a hard boil. That will force the flavors to mix. Once it hits a hard boil, reduce heat and simmer. If you need to add a little water every now and then, that's okay, too.
BTW, you may already know that red beans and rice were traditionally a Monday dish, made to simmer while you did laundry. Most restaurants down South Louisiana still have red beans and rice as their Monday special b/c of the wash day tradition.
PS If you DO want a real Cajun spice, get Tony Chachere's (pronounced Satch-er-ays) and you're pretty much set to cook everything. This is what I use to season my steak, and, well, everything else, too. But you wan't need it for the rice and beans.
Best served with cornbread. A peach cobbler makes a good dessert afterward, too.
Oh, btw, I'm a real Cajun. If you need more recipes, though, my friend cooks better than me and I can ask her. Her jambalaya is always good.)
