I used all fresh vegetables minced the garlic instead of crushed double the tomatoe sauce regular rice cooked in chicken broth (no instant) and did more of a layering with the rice main ingredients and mozzarella cheese topper. Absolutely delicious!:-) It did take longer than the recipe called for but I don't mind that with the end result being sooo tasty! My husband raved about it and my three year old ate it all! Definitely will make again.
Pretty good as written. I always follow the recipes as written the first time before I start improvising. For me it is the only way to honestly evaluate THIS recipe. I do peek at the suggestions of better cooks than I to get inspired and maybe next time get creative.
I did alter some of the details of this recipe but kept the spirit of the recipe and it turned out delicious. 1) I at least doubled the tomato sauce 2) I used fresh vegetables 3) I used extra garlic and a bit of Cajun spice and 4) I used regular long grain white rice cooked in chicken broth. I also layered the rice sausage/veggie/sauce mixture and cheese then left in in the pan with the lid on for a bit (10-15 minutes or so?) to heat through and fully melt the cheese. It's been a while since everyone obviously loved dinner around here but they all raved about this dish-- one of my sons said: "It was great just needed a little more broccoli and a little more sausage and a little more rice... wait never mind. We just should have doubled the recipe for more everything."
As written this is OK. Here's how I do it to get this to closer to five stars: INGREDIENTS: 1 TB Olive Oil 1 TB Butter 1 Pound Smoked Sausage sliced into slices 1 Large Red Bell Pepper diced 1 Medium Yellow Onion small diced 2 Garlic Cloves Minced tsp Onion Powder 1 tsp Dried Oregano tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes 2 Cups Broccoli Florets cup Chicken Broth (or water) 1 cup Tomato Sauce 2 cups Cooked Brown Rice 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Grated DIRECTIONS: 1) Add oil and butter to pan and heat over medium-high. Cook the sausage until browned about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove sausage from pan and set aside. 2) Add the bell pepper and onions and sauté until softened about 5 minutes. Add the garlic onion powder oregano and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. 3) Add the chicken broth and tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes uncovered. Add the broccoli cover and continue to simmer for about four minutes until broccoli is crisp-tender. 4) Uncover pan add sausage and cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Add cooked rice and cheese and stir to combine and warm through and melt cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
Easy to make but bland. I managed to salvage it by adding some salt pepper and some Creole seasoning I had in my pantry.
I used all fresh vegetables and had to improvise some ingredients. I used Hillshire Farms Polka Kielbasa. Instead of chicken broth I used "Better than Bouillon" and a half cup water. Also I used Ragu Pizza sauce and canned Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes. I also threw in a dash of Merlot wine and pepper. I used much more garlic...at least 5 cloves.
I took the advice of a bunch of reviewers and added seasoning (garlic powder basil Cholula) and some spinach along with the whole 8oz can of tomato sauce. Absolutely delicious!
I was not a fan of this. Prior to making this recipe I noticed aside from the garlic there was no other seasoning to this recipe. That said even changing the instant rice to Knorr Spanish rice (which has seasonings included) didn't help the flavor. I appreciated the vegetables this included but it's not enough for me to make it again.
I substituted green peppers for red peppers this meal is full of flavor and color. I love it
