This is one of our favorite easy dinner meals that everyone in our family loves, especially our two year old and even our nine month old! It takes under 30 minutes to make and only requires one pan! It is always in our regular cycle of meals we go through.

I don’t know about you, but I love meals where I can use one pan and have very minimal dishes after dinner. This meal also basically does the cooking for you, since it sits on a simmer most of the cooking time. I don’t love standing over a hot stove forever and getting sweaty and smelling like food. I also don’t always have time for that with two young kids running around.

Now, this recipe calls for 2 boxes of beef Rice-A-Roni, butter, beef smoked sausage, black beans, corn, water, and shredded Mexican cheese. It all comes together to create one tasty meal!

For most of the meals I make, I use shredded Mexican cheese. It is a cheese I like and it tastes good in most meals. It is easy for me to buy a big bag of it and use it for all of my meals. It also freezes well. At Costco they sell a two pack of two large bags, one I use and the other goes in the freezer. But, you could use any shredded cheese you like or have.

I also use easy to store long term ingredients. Pretty much every ingredient can be stored easily long term except the butter, sausage, and cheese. I have all of these stored in the freezer until I am ready to use them to make them last longer.

Let’s get into it!

First, you are going to take out the seasoning packets from the boxes of Rice-A-Roni and set them aside. Dump the rice from both boxes into a large skillet and add 4 tablespoons of butter. On medium heat stir rice and butter around until combined and golden.

Next, add sausage (cut into bite-size pieces), can of corn (drained), can of beans (drained and rinsed), water, and the seasoning packets from the Rice-A-Roni boxes. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Then, turn off heat, stir around, and then sprinkle cheese on top. Cover again for about 5 more minutes until cheese is melted. Stir to combine cheese.

Finally, serve and enjoy!