Jambalaya Style Risotto

We had this for dinner tonight and it was so delicious I had to share it ASAP.  

Ingredients:

• 1 link of Chorizo or Andouille sausage
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• half of a red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp chile pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 pinch saffron
• 2/3 cup Arborio rice
• 1 cup shrimp, chopped into large pieces

Directions:

1. Remove the sausage from its casing and saute it in a pan heated to medium heat.  Break it up as it browns. After 5 minutes, remove some of the grease from the pan with a paper towel, then add the peppers, onion and garlic.  Saute for 5 minutes more.

2. Add the rice and saute for 2-3 minutes to brown it a bit.  Now add vegetable stock to almost cover the rice and stir in the spices and saffron.

3.  When the rice looks dry, add more liquid and stir.  Do this for 10 minutes and then toss in the shrimp.

4. The risotto should take about 25 minutes to cook, but taste along the way to make sure.  You might not use all of the 4 cups of vegetable stock.

It's simple and so good!

Asian Pork Dumplings

These taste better than a restaurant, so much so that it made me come back from hiatus!  These are for a day you have some time to cook but are easy.  This recipe made 36 dumplings.

Ingredients:

• Wonton wrappers
• 1 lb ground lean pork
• 1 cup chopped kale
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 rounded cup of chopped mushrooms (cremini)- about 10
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• half of a small red onion, chopped finely
• soy sauce/Tamari (I added it in dashes not measured out)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
• Glass of water (to fuse edges of wrappers)

Directions

1. Saute the mushrooms on medium heat until they release some water, add kale and spinach.  Cook until the greens wilt.  Add 3 dashes of soy sauce and garlic, cook for a minute or so until you smell the garlic.

2. In a bowl, add the ground pork and mix in ginger, red pepper flakes, 3-5 additonal dashes of soy sauce, onion and cooked mushroom mixture.  Mix well.

3.  Lay out a wonton wrapper, add a heaping tsp of the pork mixture and lightly line the edges with water (I just used my finger).  Pinch the sides together so it makes a triangle.

4.  Fill a pot with boiling water and place a colander on top so steam can get through.  Place 6 dumplings at a time in the colander and cover with a lid that will seal it.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the wrappers appear clear.

5.  Once all dumplings have been steamed, heat a pan on medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and saute each side of the dumpling until they are golden brown.  It takes about 2 minutes per side.

I served them with a sweet chile dipping sauce!