Fling-A-Meal! Spanish rice and kielbasa

I am a second generation Fling-a-meal cook. A relative visiting for dinner actually coined this term years ago. My mother was a working mom and she was quite adept at getting a decent meal on the table from start to eat in less than 30 minutes. So she became known as a great Fling-a-meal cook.

I am only working part-time at present but I don't enjoy spending my entire evening in the kitchen or many hours planning and shopping either. So I'm carrying on the Fling-a-meal tradition. But, of course, since retiring my mother has become more of a healthy gourmet.

And therefore, ladies and gentlemen (or lone reader as the case may be), I have decided to publish the occasional Fling-a-meal idea here for your amusement. These will be dairy, egg, and nut free.

My latest one dish meal was Spanish Rice and with Turkey Kielbasa:

I actually used one package of Louis Rich Turkey Smoked Sausage. The turkey kielbasa I saw had dairy in it. But potato/potahtoh! The smoked sausage looks the same and tasted very much the same, maybe with just a hint more of smoke.

There were four of us eating and so I used 1 cup of white rice (uncooked). The great thing about rice is it tells you exactly how to measure and cook it right on the package.

When the rice was about half cooked, I added some frozen, chopped spinach right out of the bag; probably about 1/2 a cup. (Measuring takes up time and this is a fling-a-meal)

A couple of minutes later, when the spinach has melted and the rice water bubbling again, I added one can of diced tomatoes in sauce. You could also use just diced tomatoes, or if you like it more tomatoey and gooey, use just a can of tomato sauce. A fancier, spicier variation could include a can of Rotelle.

At this point, season to taste. I added salt, pepper and about a teaspoon of minced garlic from the little jar in my refrigerator.

Cut up the sausage and either heat and brown it a bit in a nonstick pan or just toss it in as is.
(If you have a little extra time and want to play gourmet, you can chop some onion and brown the sausage with chopped onion and garlic.)

I actually got a little fancy and dumped the rice mixture into a round corningware dish and tossed in the browned sausage coins. It looked nice.

My children loved it. It was enough for us to each have a nice plateful. I could have expanded the recipe with more rice and tomato. One could also add some shredded cheddar over the servings of those in the family who aren't dairy allergic. Zap their plate in the microwave if you want to melt it on top.