Warm Millet Salad with Kale Balsamic Chicken Sausage

It's a new year and I know many of you are looking for healthier recipes to get this year started. Sometimes the word "healthy" is translated into "unsatisfying" or "bland", but it doesn't have to! Healthy can be (and should be) delicious, flavorful, hearty, filling and all those other good things that you are craving. Try using a new ingredient each week to expand your horizons in the "healthy" department: Try millet instead of rice one week. Using seasonal vegetables and fruits in dishes also means additional flavor.

I wanted to create a healthy and hearty dish that incorporated ingredients that would complement the flavors in the new Bilinski's Kale Balsamic Chicken Sausage! Since moving to NYC and not having an income, I have tried to stretch my food dollar even further than before. One way I've found to do this is to create dishes that incorporate a lot of delicious and healthy ingredients that are filling and re-heat well...you could serve this dish to a family of four or, if you are in a similar situation as myself, have leftovers for a few days (I promise it re-heats very well.) Feel free to change up the ingredients as you see fit.

Warm Millet Salad with Kale Balsamic Chicken Sausage
by Jenny

2 cups organic chicken broth 

1 cup millet
1/2 cup olive oil, divided 

1 package of Bilinski's Organic Kale Balsamic Chicken Sausage, sliced into 1/4" rounds 

1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups diced organic sweet potato
1 cup diced organic baby bella mushrooms 

2 Tablespoons pine nuts 

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup organic dried cranberries

1 5-ounce container of organic baby kale 

In a small pot bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add millet, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until all water has been absorbed. 

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a large skillet and brown the sausage on both sides. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside in a large bowl. 

In the same large skillet, add 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Add in sweet potatoes and cook until tender or until water has evaporated. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to pan. Add in mushrooms and cook until browned. Next, add in the pine nuts, and brown lightly. 

In a bowl whisk together the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add 1/2 of the mixture to the pan with the sweet potatoes, mushrooms and pine nuts. Once the vegetables have been coated with the olive oil and vinegar, add in the dried cranberries and kale. Cook until kale has begun to wilt (about 1-2 minutes), remove from heat. 

Once the millet has finished cooking, add it to the bowl with the sausage. 

Add the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture to the bowl with the warm millet and sausage, toss to coat well. 

To the same bowl add the cooked vegetables, toss to incorporate all ingredients and serve.