Millet, veggie, tofu, and sausage stir-fry

Sorry that it's been so long since my last post. I was out of town for a while, and ended up getting back home a day and a half late (due to some snow in Atlanta!). I've been very busy the rest of the week and have mostly relied on leftovers out of the freezer. I did manage to make this stir-fry, though. The thing I love about stir-fries is that you can throw just about anything in there and it will be good (or at least interesting). I ended up going to the grocery store as soon as I got back to Michigan (at 1 am) because I knew I wouldn't have much time later in the week. Let's just say that I'm not great at planning in the middle of the night, and I ended up with a refrigerator full of random things. The solution? Throw it all in a pan.

Millet, veggie, tofu, and sausage stir-fry

2 bunches broccoli, cut into pieces

1 link turkey sausage (about 1/4 lb), sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

8 oz. button mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups cooked millet (or your favorite grain)

1 lb firm tofu, cut into cubes*

5 Tbsp soy sauce, divided (use wheat-free tamari for gluten-free)

Boil broccoli until it starts to get tender, drain, and set aside. Brown sausage in large non-stick skillet over medium heat and set aside. Add oil to pan and saute onion until tender. Add garlic and bell pepper and cook a few more minutes, until pepper starts to get tender. Add mushrooms and cook a few more minutes. Add millet, broccoli, and sausage, stir well, and let sit on low heat. Brown tofu in separate skillet over medium-high heat. Before it's completely done, add 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Once it's browned, add to millet and veggie mixture and stir in remaining soy sauce.

*Ideally I would have marinated the tofu in the soy sauce for a while before I cooked it, but I didn't decide to use it until half-way through cooking when I realized that the millet and veggies dwarfed the amount of sausage that I had thawed.

This confirms that I'm still in love with millet. Quinoa has become the new popular whole grain (perhaps because you feel like part of an exclusive club when you learn how to pronounce it), but there are so many other options. Millet does a good job of soaking up flavors, so it was perfect for this. I used some that I cooked and froze a couple of months ago. It was still delicious. One day I want to have a giant freezer so that I can store an infinite amount of cooked grains, fruits and veggies, beans, meats, and stocks. Cooking millet isn't a big deal because it doesn't take long at all, but it's still nice to cook up a big batch at once and always have some on hand (and it saves energy, too!). For now, I'll have to make do with small amounts of a few things...

The next couple of months are becoming busier and busier, but hopefully I'll manage to spend some time in the kitchen. I'm toying with the idea of cooking through a cookbook each month, so that might help by reducing the time I spend planning meals (although that is my favorite part...). Stay tuned!