Hearty Sausage and Rice Skillet

It seems as though any dish I make using the Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage is one we're sure to love.  This hearty dish is one we decided we loved from the first bite.

I recently received my February/March 2013 issue of Simple and Delicious magazine and this was the first recipe I tried.  I've made it twice now, the second time I changed it slightly to make it even more healthy.  This recipe got all 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

I began by removing the casings from the sausage and cooked it in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as the meat browned.

Then, I added the oregano, chili powder and garlic salt.  My first cooking teacher in Jr. High taught me to add the dry seasonings directly to the meat, as it gets seared to the meat with the heat of the pan.

Once the seasonings were fully incorporated, I added the sliced mushrooms, yellow bell pepper and diced onion.

The seasonings will turn the mushrooms and onions a pretty orange color.

Next I added the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with green chilies.

The rough chopped fresh spinach went into the pan next.  The original recipe called for 2 cups, but I doubled it the second time I made this dish to add more nutrients to it.  When the spinach cooks down, it seems to go into nothing, so an additional 2 cups was not too much.  In fact, I think it was just right!

It's hard to tell from the photo above, but it was taken just after I added the water.  I then let it come to a boil and cooked the dish for 2 minutes.

The last ingredient was the instant rice.  The first time I made this I used the normal Minute Rice, but when telling a friend about this amazing new dish I tried, she asked if I had used the brown rice made by Minute Rice.  I admitted I didn't know it even existed.  I figured their rice was so processed to make it cook faster that there was no way they would sell brown rice.  Alas, they do and I tried it the next time I made this dish, figuring the brown rice should be healthier.  The only difference was that it didn't seem to soak up the liquid as well as the traditional Minute Rice.

This is what it looks like when everything is mixed together.  It's pretty colorful and smells terrific at this point.

After adding the rice, I covered the pan for about 7 minutes to let the rice cook.

Once the rice was cooked, there was still a little liquid around the sides, but after stirring it in, the dish was ready to serve.

This healthy dish is quite hearty as well as delicious!  Enjoy!

Hearty Sausage and Rice Skillet

1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage links

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ pound sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained

4 cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups uncooked instant brown rice

Remove casings from sausage and cook in a Dutch oven over medium heat until no longer pink.  Add the oregano, chili powder and salt; stir to combine.  Add mushrooms, yellow pepper and onion; cook until vegetables are tender.  Stir in the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Add spinach and stir to combine.  Stir in water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.  Add rice, making sure it is covered by the liquid; remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 5 – 7 minutes or until the rice is tender.  Stir before serving.