Quick, Dirty and Delish
Usually after a long day, I love nothing better than trying out a new recipe and unwinding in front of the stove with a little Dateline or 48 Hours playing on my laptop in the background. I know, macabre, right? Creating delicious culinary art while listening to stories about murders and horror? I’m a news reporter at heart and I’m still addicted to real life crime stories!
Lastnight, I was just trying to git’erdone. No true crime, just true tired. I opened the fridge and saw I had leftover chicken we grilled over the weekend that needed eating, some random veggies, sausage and a box of Zatarain’s Dirty Rice. Doneski.
The irony is that my man came home and proceeded to plow through my leftover “everything but the kitchen sink” dinner and declare it tasted even better than his all-time favorite jambalaya. Wha-what? I think dude was just hungry. I also credit his bad-ass grill skills for the smoky flavor of the chicken which really took the simplicity of this dinner to a whole ‘notha level of delish!
Ingredients
- Zatarain's Dirty Rice Mix
- 2 Tb butter (divided)
- 1 Tb olive oil
- 8 oz spicy sausage sliced
- 1 Tb Grade B Maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups grilled chicken diced
- 2 roasted jalapeños chopped
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 1 cup spinach
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Make rice according to package directions (boil 2 1/2 cups water with 1 Tb butter and add rice mix. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes).
- Saute chopped onion and mushrooms in 1 Tb olive oil on medium heat for 10 minutes until lightly caramelized. Add in spinach and stir until slightly wilted, about 30 seconds. Toss in a pinch of kosher salt.
- In a separate frying pan, melt 1 Tb butter and add sausage. Cook on both sides until done-- about 7 minutes. Stir in 1 Tb Grade B Maple syrup to coat. This adds a nice, sweet flavor to the smokiness of the sausage.
- Add chicken and chopped jalapeños to vegetable mixture to warm them up.
- Stir in rice to combine.
I might add some a cup of kidney beans to the mix next time for even more stick-to-yer-ribs effect! Only ish– no leftovers!
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I love this idea!!! I always have left overs, some veggies, and some kind of rice to work with. Sometimes ya just don’t want to go to the store! Thanks for inspiring us to just get creative with what we have on hand!!
Sometimes throwing leftovers together is the most delicious idea all week! JP approved is good enough for me, LOL!