Rustic Italian Millet Brunch – Give Mom the day off and prepare this savory, earthy, and satisfying brunch for her. Oh, and be sure to let her know it’s good for her, too!

My ideal Mother’s Day consists of being able to sleep in to a time of my choosing, followed by a brunch that someone makes for me, topped with a day of no housework… I guess that’s pretty typical of many mothers.

After all, much of motherhood consists of doing for others day in and day out. I’ve definitely had my “I can’t take it anymore!” moments where I’m on my 7th load of laundry for the week, someone just dumped pretzels on my newly vacuumed carpet, and I’m having the 12th conversation of the day about shark robots. My selfish side comes out and I think to myself,  “I have 2 degrees, have a number of achievements behind me, and now I’m spending all of my time folding and refolding little socks! What am I doing?!”

All that said, I mostly love motherhood. It’s a joy in so many ways to raise a family. And the hope is, as a parent, that you’ll be an important part of making the world a better place by training up fabulous, happy adults. But lets be real – one day a year it’s really, really, really awesome to get recognized and sort of take a day off from the hard work parts of motherhood and just enjoy the good stuff.

The Saturday mornings that I don’t work are our family’s big breakfast time. Usually that consists of pancakes or scrambled eggs. It’s what the people in my house want, so I give it to them. My favorite breakfast/brunch meals have always been a melding of breakfasty foods like eggs and sausage with veg. Today’s recipe for a Rustic Italian Millet Brunch is right up my alley, and I guess on Mother’s Day I get first pick. This recipe is savory, earthy, and satisfying. And oh, it’s good for you!

Rustic Italian Millet Brunch

Serves: 4

Prep Time:  15 minutes                 Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 C whole millet
• 1/2 C diced shallots
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 C low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 C diced sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 2 C chopped chard
• 4 eggs
• 4 pieces Italian turkey sausage
• 2 Tbsp fresh chives
• 8 slices of fresh parmesan
• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, toast 1 cup of millet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of olive oil and 1/2 C of shallots to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Next add 1 Tbsp of minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.

2. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for 15 to 20 minutes. If you cook the millet too long it will become mush, so you’ll be shooting for a more al dente texture. While the millet is cooking, prep the remainder of your ingredients.

3. Once the millet is done cooking, remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 C diced sun-dried tomatoes and 2 C chopped chard. Cover your millet pilaf and allow it to sit and wilt the chard while you cook your sausage and eggs.

4. Grill one Italian turkey sausage link and fry 1 egg per person.

5. Plate your millet pilaf, sausage, and fried egg together. Top with fresh cracked pepper to taste and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh chive and slices of fresh parmesan.

Rustic Italian Millet Brunch

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Give Mom the day off and prepare this savory, earthy, and satisfying brunch for her. Oh, and be sure to let her know it's good for her, too!

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Ingredients

• 1 C whole millet
• 1/2 C diced shallots
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 C low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 C diced sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 2 C chopped chard
• 4 eggs
• 4 pieces Italian turkey sausage
• 2 Tbsp fresh chives
• 8 slices of fresh parmesan
• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, toast 1 cup of millet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of olive oil and 1/2 C of shallots to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Next add 1 Tbsp of minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.
2. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for 15 to 20 minutes. If you cook the millet too long it will become mush, so you'll be shooting for a more al dente texture. While the millet is cooking, prep the remainder of your ingredients.
3. Once the millet is done cooking, remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 C diced sun-dried tomatoes and 2 C chopped chard. Cover your millet pilaf and allow it to sit and wilt the chard while you cook your sausage and eggs.
4. Grill one Italian turkey sausage link and fry 1 egg per person.
5. Plate your millet pilaf, sausage, and fried egg together. Top with fresh cracked pepper to taste and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh chive and slices of fresh parmesan.