Easy Smoked Sausage and Rice Skillet

(Not my recipe, so I'm not taking credit for it.  It is probably from Hillshire Farms)

Original recipe:

Easy Smoked Sausage and Rice Skillet

**2 bags Success White Rice

1 package Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage, sliced thin diagonally (I sliced mine thin diagnonally and then cut into small slices)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

**2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, sliced thin

1 large red bell pepper, sliced thin

**1 package (10 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1/2 cup chicken broth (or water)

**1/2 cup tomato sauce

**1/2 cup shredded mozzarella chese

(see ** at bottom for what I did instead  and remember:  MMDH - Measurements Don't Happen Here!)

Cook rice according to package directions.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add sausage to skillet and cook until sausage is browned.  Add garlic, onions, bell peppers and broccoli.  Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add rice, broth and tomato sauce.  Reduce heat to low, cook about 5 minutes longer.  Stir occasionally.  Serve topped with cheese.

**My Changes:

1 cooked 2 cups of rice in 4 cups water.  I did not use it all, probably a little over half of the cooked rice.

I used about 1/4 tablespoon (maybe less) of garlic powder since I didn't have any fresh garlic on hand.

Instead of broccoli, I chopped fresh carrots - probably about 1/4 cup but it could have used more.

I didn't have canned tomato sauce on hand so I used pizza/spaghetti sauce.  Probably about 1/2 cup or slightly more.

I used colby/jack cheese and shredded on top of each individual serving.

Verdict:  It was good, but next time I think we'll use Rotel tomatoes instead of the pizza/spaghetti sauce.  We will also probably chop up a jalepeno along with the onions and bell peppers.  Also, I chopped my vegetables into small pieces and not strips.  I may use chopped celery in it as well.  I added a little dried parsley along with the garlic powder.