Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

I have been wanting to try my hand at red beans and rice for a while and finally got the chance to make some for dinner tonight. I got a basic recipe from allrecipes.com and made some changes - turned it into a one pot dish and made some lower fat changes.

• 1 pound dry kidney beans
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken, beef, or vegetable stock + 2 cups water (I prefer beef)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or 1 whole cayenne pepper, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 pound smoked turkey sausage, sliced
• 3 cups hot-to-boiling water
• 2 cups brown rice
• hot sauce to taste (I used 1 tablespoon during cooking and then added some to my bowl later)

Directions

1. Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight. Or bring them to a boil with some water in a large saucepan, boil for 2 minutes, cover, and remove from heat. After 1 hour, drain and rinse the beans. 
2. Rinse beans, and place in a large pot along with the stock and 2 cups water. Season with bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, sage, parsley, Cajun seasoning, salt, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
3. Stir rice, sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, celery and hot water into beans, cover, and continue to simmer for 60 minutes. Serve with some fresh bread.