Modifying Original Recipes to Fit Your Needs!

A blog about healthy eating, healthy living and happiness. Join me and I'll show you how easy it is to substitute, modify and enhance your favorite recipes to accommodate your special diet, all without missing a thing!

September 12, 2011

Jambalaya.. More like Upside down Shepard's Pie

The title of this post may have you a little confused... Allow me to explain...

The refrigerator in my condo is 'apartment size'... meaning it is smaller than a typical refrigerator. This also means that our freezer has been absolutely packed for quite some time. Because of this I resolved to create meals that use what is currently in the freezer rather than buying new foods. Sounds like a good idea right?

I knew that we had four Bison Hot Dogs  (yes, bison! You can find them at Costco, they are delicious and healthy!), and plenty of homemade Italian Sausage from my boyfriend's dad's restaurant - Benders Brat Haus (Aurora, Colorado).

I also had bought Millet quite some time ago and had yet to use it. I think that I slightly overcooked it because the texture resembled that of sticky oatmeal or when rice sticks together... The taste is very neutral which went well with this dish but by itself would definitely need some added flavoring.

In my head I was thinking of creating a fish-less Jambalaya with the ingredients we had. As I said earlier,  it ended up looking more like upside down Shepard's pie - but the flavor was still very good.

Ingredients
4 Bison Hot Dogs (precooked)
Italian Sausage (about 1/2 pound)
Diced Canned Tomatoes (I used Fire Roasted)
2 Roasted Green Chiles (fresh if you have them leftover from any Farmer's Market you may have visited, if not canned will work just fine)
1 c. Millet
1 c. Peas (plus any other veggies you want to throw in)
Garlic

How to Prepare
Cook millet according to package directions (warning - 1 c makes a lot!).
While millet cooks, cook the italian sausage or any other spicy sausage you have on hand.
Cut bison dogs into rounds.
Chop 2 gloves garlic and add to sausage along with green chiles.
Add tomatoes (and their juice) to pan with sausage and garlic. 
Add peas to pan and continue to let mixture simmer until peas are heated. 
Taste and add any extra seasoning, salt & pepper. 

By now the millet should be done and you are now ready to eat!

The way I served it was by placing a good amount of millet in the middle of the plate and topping with the meat mixture.


It didn't take long for all of us to mush everything together... the flavors blend better and it looks almost as pretty...


This dish can be made with so many different ingredients. Use whatever you have on hand and throw in as many extras as you like! Enjoy!



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