Rice dressing, a family favorite, Major style

This is a recipe that my family serves at holidays and for special occasions.  I have always loved this recipe but it was off limits for us because it normally has ground beef instead of ground turkey.  Luckily, I was able to find a “Major safe” version of the bulk sausage at my local whole foods in the butcher case (just ask your butcher!)  It was a hit with my whole family.  Major was hesitant to try it at first, as he is with most new foods, but ended up loving it and going to town on it!

Rice Dressing

1 lb. breakfast pork sausage (like Jimmy Dean, I used the whole foods version)

1 lb. ground dark meat turkey

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1.5 bell peppers, chopped

.5 bunch of green onions, chopped

2 cups of brown rice, cooked

Salt, pepper, and old bay seasoning to taste

Olive oil

Cook the onions, celery, and bell peppers over high heat in olive oil until soft.  Next, season the meat with old bay seasoning liberally and add it to the vegetables in the pot and break up with the back of a spoon until it is browned.  Turn the heat down to simmer and simmer stirring frequently for 1 hour.  Add the green onions and simmer for 15 more minutes.  After the meat mixture is cooked slowly stir in the rice until you reach the desired ratio of meat to rice (I didn’t use quite all of the cooked rice because I prefer a lot of meat in my rice dressing!)  Serve warm.