I like "dirty rice." A kind of cajun pilaf, it's got rice and vegetables and meat -- and seasoning.
Monday, Tam was working, so I used up the last of the ground beef I had frozen making my own version -- I sauteed half an onion, some carrots and celery, then set it aside while I god the ground beef with cajun spices, a little chorizo seasoning and some extra smoked paprika for luck.
With the beef cooked and drained, I added the vegetables back in, plus a small can of green chilies, a can of gandules -- green pigeon peas - and a microwaved bag of "Carolina Beans and Rice," consisting of blackeyed peas, rice and some spices. Stirred it up, let it simmer and there (with a dash of soy sauce and a dash of Worcestershire) was my supper.
Supper and a half, or maybe two-and-a-half. I froze the leftovers for later.
Tuesday was later. I sauteed the rest of the onion, a little carrot, celery, a huge Hatch chili and half of a green bell pepper. I had a couple of hot Italian sausages and not quite a pound of sweet (mild) Italian sausage; cooked and drained, it's not quite as much as you'd think. Added the thawed leftovers and a small can of corn, looked it over and added a small can of tomato sauce. It pretty much filled my Always pan, a big, deep, non-stick skillet that is just right for this kind of thing. I let it simmer with fresh basil and a couple of bay leaves before announcing dinner was ready.
Tam made her bowl of the stuff vanish in record time. Not a whole lot of rice in the final mix, but plenty of flavor! It's not really anyone's regional cuisine, more of a vaguely-Southern* mix of "what works with rice," and it certainly did work out fine.
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* Except for the celery, probably.
I only ever make the boxed Zatarain version of Dirty Rice, with minimal customizing, but I will say that if you make it with a tube of breakfast sausage instead of hamburger meat (I use Gwaltney's Hot), it is a very tasty variation.
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