GHSS: Creole Fried Rice

Today was a lazy Sunday. And when I say lazy, I mean lazy.

To give a visual: I'm still in last night's pajamas and it's 4 pm. However, I did brush my teeth and do my skincare routine this morning because I'm not a fucking animal.

That being said it was hella tempting not to just say "fuck it" and order pizza, but then I thought of you (yes you) and how your Sunday would not be complete if you didn't get to find out what I made for dinner. I'm just such a good person.

I picked out 4 recipes from Skillet Suppers to put on my meal plan for the week and this one seemed like it was the easiest to throw together. We're talking 30 minutes from the second you start pulling ingredients to the moment your spoon enters your mouth. I really don't know how I've lived my life up to this point without this book.

This recipe calls for andouille sausage, which I've never actually been able to find in any of my neighborhood markets. It also doesn't help that my version of "not being able to find it" is walking up to the sausage section in the store, not immediately seeing it on the shelf, and then buying the cheapest jalapeno sausage instead. In this particular case, kielbasa was on sale so that's what ya girl bought.

In this recipe there is also a need for a can of kidney beans (Beans! What do you mean beans!?) which I already had in my pantry. Oh, that's another thing about this book. The majority of recipes call for things I already have. For this recipe, all I needed to buy was the sausage. Another huge win. But back to the beans. I felt like the beans kind of over powered the dish and wish I would have only added half a can vs the whole can. For bean lovers like my sisters this would not be an issue, but I like to feel like my bites contain more meat and veggies. Collin also really liked this dish and did not think the beans were an issue (he actually just got up for seconds) but I suppose that's all preference. You decide.

On to the rice - and this is important. The recipe calls for 4 cups cooked white rice. I thought about cooking some minute rice, but didn't want to dirty another pot so I grabbed two pouches of "ready rice" (Uncle Ben's is the brand name, but the off brand kinds are just as good). I had one pouch of brown rice and one pouch of the chicken kind and thought fuck it let's get wild and use them both. Note: each pouch is 2 cups of rice. I suggest going this route the first time you make this because I found one pouch (2 cups) to be the perfect amount of rice. If I had added 4 cups it would have been way too much. And in case you're wondering, I put the brown rice in first. The chicken will be for tomorrow's dinner. I know, I know...how boring.

Check out the perfect rice to meat/veggie ratio

She tells you to add hot sauce if that's your thing...and it absolutely fucking is

Creole Fried Rice 

2 tbs canola oil (olive oil, whatever)

8 oz. andouille sausage (she actually suggests Kielbasa as an alternative in the book - ha!)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbs. creole seasoning (let's be real - you'll need way more than that)

4 cups cooked white rice (strongly recommend going the pouch route first)

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained (if you're a beany person)

2 tbs. tomato paste

Sliced green onions and hot sauce, for serving

1) In a 12 inch skillet, add the oil over medium heat until hot. Add sausage, onion, pepper, garlic, and creole seasoning. Cook for about 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until hot. Sprinkle green onion on top.

3) Serve with the hot sauce.