Dirty Rice

This recipe I modified from the Food Network. I like it because it is a one dish meal and really easy to make. Another thing I like about it is that you can vary it up by adding whatever meat and veggies you already have in your fridge. No trip to the store required!

Also, as an FYI, most chicken and beef stock have wheat in them. I use Swanson's Chicken Stock because it doesn't. Even within the same brand, some products may use wheat while others do not. You have to read the labels to find out which ones are ok.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 4 cups chicken stock (I would use beef broth next time for more flavor)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sausage, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 medium orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 zucchini diced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• salt and pepper

Make the rice. We used our rice cooker, but instead of cooking the rice in water we used the stock as the liquid. To do this, you simply use the same amount of stock as you would water (in this case, 3 cups stock with the 2 cups rice). This is what's great about a rice cooker, you can cook more than just plain old rice in it!

Meanwhile heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage. Once browned, add the garlic, onion, celery, and orange bell pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup chicken stock and cayenne. Cook until the stock has reduced a little. Add the cooked rice and stir thoroughly. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Enjoy!

Notes: This was really good and I liked how the cayenne gave a little bit of a kick. I would, as I mentioned above, use beef instead of chicken stock so that it had a little bit of a fuller flavor and you didn't have to add salt later. I served this with my garlic cheddar biscuits and the meal was a big hit.