side dish

For Thanksgiving I whipped up this little side dish of wild rice with vegetables and sausage. I thought it was a nice compliment to such a heavy meal and an alternative to stuffing since the grains aren't the bulk of the dish which keeps things light. This most definitely could stand on it's own as a great meal and is sure to make for excellent leftovers. This meal has plenty of fiber and doesn't skimp on flavor.

Ingredients:

- olive oil

- 1 cup of wild rice

- bunch of kale

- 4 small-medium sausage links

- 2 large mushrooms

- half an onion

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 1 stalk of celery

- 1 red pepper

- 2 cups of broth

Prep:

Start by chopping the kale and breaking off any thick stems at the bottom of the leaves and discarding them. Next, place the chopped greens in a bowl of cold water to soak any dirt or sand out of the shredded leaves. While that is soaking get to cutting and chopping the other veggies. Mince both the garlic and celery stalk. Chop the onion (I used red onion this time) in large cuts as well as the red pepper. (Though I went for a smaller chop on the pepper since I like to have varying sizes and colors in plate.) The mushrooms were halved and then sliced. Lastly cut up the sausages into rounds. I used two apple and two sage sausages which really make this ridiculously tasty.

Cooking:
Start by heating some olive oil (about a tablespoon each) in two pots/pans. In one start sauteing the garlic and celery, soon after adding the onion. In the other toast your dry rice. Once the rice starts to smell likes it's cooking and toasts a bit, slowly add the broth, stirring it in until it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer away until all the stock has cooked in and the rice is tender.

When the onions have softened a bit, add the red pepper. After add the kale and put a lid on it to wilt the  greens. In a third pan start cooking the sausage in a touch of oil eventually adding the mushrooms once the meat has cooked through. Once your rice is finished absorbing, the kale has wilted, and the mushroom are tender, mix all three pots into one and voila! Dinner is ready!