WILD RICE, FARRO, AND SAUSAGE BAKE

I haven't had much time to cook lately because I'm taking the GRE in two weeks and just began to study... ahh!.. so whenever I cook I've been making LOTS of servings-worth so that it can last me for a while. This week I literally only made three dishes and rotated them for lunches and dinners: roasted carrots, butternut squash, and tofu with rosemary and sea salt; rice cooked in adobo sauce with diced tomatoes and sliced red peppers with a side of black beans; and a wild rice, farro, and sausage bake. I have to say, they all were tasty enough that I wished I could keep this rotation going longer than my supplies allowed! Plus, all of them took only 15 minutes each of active cooking! I'm usually one to extend the cooking process as long as possible, but since I'm in a crunch for time, I can't really do that right now! All three recipes are good enough to share, but I thought the wild rice bake had a deliciously savory and wintery (not to mention Minnesotan!) flavor so I figured I'd post that one! It reheated suuuuupppper well as leftovers, even four days later! And, it still tastes amazing, even over some physics homework!

wild rice, farro, and sausage bake

1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed
1/2 cup farro
3 cups water
1 chicken bullion cube
4 sausage patties
1 teaspoon rosemary
5 carrots

Add the rinsed rice, farro, water, and bullion cube to a rice maker and cook according to package directions. While the rice is cooking, heat a cast-iron pan over medium heat and begin to sauté the sausage. There's no need to coat the pan with any oil because the sausage will release some of its own fatty acids and won't stick to the pan anyways! Using a spatula, break the sausage patties up into small pieces and mix in the rosemary. Let brown completely and then remove from the heat. While the rice continues to cook, you can slice your carrots into coins. When the rice is done, combine it all in a casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, until the top has browned. This ingredient list is fairly short, but for the amount of effort this recipe takes, the flavor is amazing!