Cajun-Style Dirty Rice

My dad and I have talked a few times about how we find new recipes.  I probably have 8 cookbooks in our kitchen right now; and I'll also go to the internet to find recipes.  What we like to do is compare several different recipes for the same dish.  You will find that the core ingredients are often the same across the board, but then each recipe will add their own little touch.  We like to pick out the things that appeal most to us, and then add them to the basic recipe.

That's what I did for this dirty rice dish.  Typically you would start with the Creole holy trinity of bell pepper, onion, and celery ... but I didn't have any bell peppers in the house, so I used a mire poix instead.  I also diced up some turkey polish sausage and sauteed them all together in some olive oil.  Most sausages have enough fat that you wouldn't need any oil.  But turkey is leaner so I used a little oil to make sure everything wasn't sticking to the pan.

Then I added a little salt & pepper.  You may not need salt if you have a different kind of sausage here.  But I wanted to bring out some of the moisture in the onions.  Next I added Cajun seasoning and parsley.  

After everything had been breaking down in the pan, and the meat was getting a nice caramely crust, I added 2 tbsp of tomato paste and some hot sauce.  That was my own personal touch here.  I thought it would lend a nice color to everything, and add another flavor profile to the dish.

In the meantime I made some instant brown rice.  When that was almost finished cooking, I poured it into the skillet and finished cooking it with the simmering meat & veggies.  I topped the whole thing with some green onions for a little crunch and some bite.

I made sure to make enough to have some leftover for a lunch later in the week.  I'm glad I did.  Because I really like it.  And I'm a sucker for anything with polish sausage.