The heat wave that was gripping the Midwest has finally broken.  Today the temps were mainly in the 80’s and we got some very much needed rain.  Cool enough to make a girl feel like cooking in her kitchen again.

I had some goat cheese in the frig now for a couple of weeks and have been trying to think of what to do with it.  I also had a Kielbasa and crimini mushrooms.  I recently made a dish with chickpeas and mushrooms roasted with Mediterranean herbs and balsamic vinegar that was delicious.  Maybe something along those lines with a few variations sounded good.  Apparently I was right.  My men folk inhaled it and gave me the thumbs up to share it here.

You’ll need:

1 1/2 cups brown rice + 3 cups of water

1 lb crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 medium yellow onion chopped

olive oil, as needed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

thyme-1 tsp dried or 1 Tbs fresh

oregano 1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh

1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped and divided into 3 equal parts

7 oz turkey kielbasa, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 tsp hot sauce, optional

2-3 Tbs balsamic vinegar

5 oz fresh goat cheese

fresh ground black pepper, to taste.

In a medium sauce pan, combine rice and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until all water is adsorbed.

While the rice is cooking…

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add enough oil for sauteing and then add onion and mushroom.  Saute slowly over medium low heat.  Add salt and garlic powder.  When mushrooms begin to yield their liquid add thyme, oregano and one part of the basil.  Add kielbasa and continue to saute for about 5 minutes.  Add balsamic and hot sauce.  Continue to cook until most of the liquid is evaporated.

When the rice is done add the goat cheese and stir until the cheese is evenly distributed.  Add the second part of basil and fresh ground black pepper. Stir again.

To serve, place a portion of rice on the plate. Top with kielbasa saute and the last part of the fresh basil.  Enjoy!