Sausage and Onions wth Garlic & Herb Risotto

Finally I cooked! It seems like forever that I cut and chopped and was able to spend a long time in the kitchen cooking. I love to cook. I don't really like to bake but cooking is my thing.

When I was in the grocery store the other day I got some Italian sausage from the butcher and saw a box of risotto (with dry herbs and stuff) and thought "I bet I could add stuff to my risotto to make it a bit healthier without preservatives (which I am sure were in the packet). So I got a box of "real" risotto (the kind that takes forever to cook) and went on my way.

I was sitting watching Food Network yesterday and Guy Fierri (I think that is his name) was making a pasta sauce that had sausage and ribs in it and it looked great so I decided to do some of what he did. Not sure I would ever use ribs in a pasta sauce but I bet the flavors were awesome.

I didn't have any peppers, which would have been great with the sausage, but I did have plenty of onions and lots of cans of organic canned tomatoes. I knew I could make it work. I did have to run out and get some garlic as I realized I was all out!

I paired the meal with a nice Caesar salad and it was fantastic. Dan asked were I got the recipe and when I told him I made it up he told me I should probably write it down! Sweet guy he is.

Garlic & Herb Risotto
Box of Risotto
3-5 garlic cloves chopped
olive oil
basil
Parmesan cheese

In bottom of pan heat some olive oil and add the garlic to saute it. Add the amount of water that is recommended on he risotto box and then add some basil and the risotto. Bring to a boil and add the Parmesan cheese and follow the directions on the box for cooking. I added a bit more Parmesan cheese at the end of cooking and stirred it.

Sausage & garlic & onions
4 Italian sausage (I used hot but my dish was hot) try sweet if you don't like spicy
2 onions
5-8 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (with basil is great if plain add basil)
white wine
salt and pepper to taste




cook sausage in a bit of olive oil until done. Take them out of the pan and add the onions and garlic. (I actually ended up cutting up another onion for mine as this was only 1 onion and did not seem like enough.) (that is my $1.48 Santuko knife I got at Target on Friday!)

Saute the onions and garlic until they are done. In the meantime cut the sausage into pieces. When onions and garlic are done add some white wine to deglaze the pan and then add the sausage back in. Add the entire can of tomatoes and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Mine was not watery at all and was somewhat thick.

Place on top of the risotto add a salad and Mangia!



With a homemade meal like this and a holiday the next day Life is Good!

Cannelini Beans & Meat Sauce

Ok so I am trying t lose 8 pounds before we go on our big Disney Cruise in November. When I eat only 6 points during the day my brain is a little foggy and I truly come up with crazy ideas for things to eat.


Yesterday I was emailing with a friend about recipes and she indicated she had something in her crockpot and I thought "mmmmm it would be great to have a nice smelling crockpot house." So I went to the freezer and found some ground buffalo (you can use ground beef) and it is so lean and organic and I love this stuff and some italian sausage that came from the butcher. I browned the ground meat and sausage and in the crockpot put 2 jars of pasta sauce (yes people sometimes I use jars, although only when not entertaining) and then added the meat. I did not put any onions or other things as then the kids won't eat it. I cooked that all day. Oh and I used the Reynolds Slow Cooker liners and these are the greatest invention in the world!

I also had a bag of dried cannelini beans and thought "rather than eat pasta how about beans!" Great fiber, low fat! Again what was I thinking. So I cleaned the beans and placed them in about 6 cups of water with chopped onion, a raw sausage, and salt and pepper to taste. I brought it to a boil and then simmered for about 3 hours.



Can I tell you how divine my house smelled? My house smelled divine!!



I made whole wheat penne pasta with fresh mozzarella for the kids as I know they wouldn't eat the beans.



Originally I was going to eat the beans and just have a dollop of the sauce on the side but instead I put the sauce in the middle of the beans with a small slice of fresh mozzarella and it was really good. See what the brain does when it is in diet mode!!

I had 2 satisfied customers, see the sauce all over their faces? And really that is what it is all about. Now Life is Good!

Disclaimer: Both pictures of the children were taken by 6 year old and her self portrait was taken upside down!