Poblano Turkey Sausages with Mexican-ish Rice and a Watermelon Lesson

Don't forget to email me your recipe for BSI (Blogger Secret Ingredient)! Send me your best Watermelon Recipe and win a prize! I will also be making the winning recipe and putting it up on my blog.

I was thinking about watermelon last night. It's such an interesting melon. It makes a sound like no other when bitten into. The sound of Jicama is similar. I found this cool info on Watermelon and I found it to be quite fascinating!

Watermelon is thought to have originated in the Kalahari Desert of Africa.

The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt and is depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics on the walls of their ancient buildings. Watermelons were often placed in the burial tombs of kings to nourish them in the afterlife.

From there, watermelons spread throughout countries along the Mediterranean Sea by way of merchant ships.

By the 10th century, watermelon found its way to China, which is now the world's number one producer of watermelons.

The 13th century found watermelon spread through the rest of Europe via the Moors.

In 1615 the word "watermelon" first appeared in the English dictionary, according to John Mariani in his book, "The Dictionary of American Food & Drink."

Southern food historian, John Egerton, believes watermelon made its way to the United States with African slaves as he states in his book, "Southern Food."

The United States currently ranks fourth in worldwide production of watermelon. Forty-four states grow watermelons with Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and Arizona consistently leading the country in production.

Watermelon has become a year-round staple in households the world over. With more countries than ever importing and exporting watermelons, it is easy to find the sweet, healthy and refreshing fruit any time of the year.

Source: www.watermelon.org

On to today's recipe. We had this for dinner a couple of nights ago. It was easy and yummy!

• 1 package of Turkey Sausages (I found these Poblano Pepper ones and I had to try them!
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 115 oz can corn, drained
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies and spices
• 1 15 oz can black beans, drained
• 1 15 oz can water or chicken broth

For Garnish:

• chopped cilantro
• avocado
• sliced olives
• sour cream
  

Grill the turkey sausage.

While the sausage is grilling you can start on the rice. Heat oil in a large pan. Brown rice a bit. (I thought this photo turned out so cool with the rice falling into the pan. What an action shot!)

Next, add your corn and brown it a bit also.

Add in the black beans.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Stir in 1 can of water or chicken broth and the chopped cilantro. Bring to a boil. Stir. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes until rice is done and liquid is absorbed.

Remove lid and give it a stir .

Slice the Turkey Sausages and place on top of the rice.

Garnish with sour cream, avocado, olives, cilantro and maybe a little of your favorite hot sauce. I think this is a great weeknight meal. Great flavor and not a lot of fuss.

Print Recipe

~Enjoy~