Recipe: Rice with Cajun Shrimp and Black Eyed Peas

This is the first dish that I cooked aboard on the new boat. Excitedly, I succeeded in using only one cooking pan and the small rice cooker.  My husband brought home the rice cooker when we lived aboard the previous time, and it has been with us ever since. It's so easy to cook up some rice (if you're plugged in at the dock) and the make a simple topping.   This meal was just that  - Rice with Cajun Shrimp and Black Eyed Peas.

1 15 oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed but reserve the liquid (I like Eden's beans, no BPA in the cans.)
1/2 lb. of cooked shrimp
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup of salsa (divided)
2 tbsp. olive oil (divided)
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 cup water
1 cup of rice, or more, cooked
Assorted toppings: avocado, sour cream, cheese

1. Cook rice in rice cooker or on stove top. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in pan over medium high heat.
3. Add 1/4 cup of salsa and 1 tbsp. cumin to pan, cook for 5 minutes and stir often.
4. Add drained beans, bean liquid, and water to pan. Cook for about 12 minutes until water has boiled away.
5. Remove bean mixture from pan.
6. In a plastic bag, place shrimp and taco seasoning (I used 1/2 of the packet) and 1 tbsp. olive oil.
7. Add the shrimp mixture to hot pan and cook until heated.
8. Add bean  mixture back to the pan to heat up.
9. Divide rice into bowls, top with bean-shrimp mix, and then top with toppings. Enjoy!