Home-style risoni

Yesterday, I was craving some risotto and looking at the fridge, I realized there was a lot of stuff I should cook and use to free up some space and to lessen food wastage. I figured I should try and concoct something with stuff in my fridge.

Tada! My finished product for dinner! With a glass of avocado shake. Mhmm! and yes, that’s hot sauce! ;)

Ingredients:

Orzo Pasta (my pantry did not have arborio rice available. Orzo is pretty versatile for any cook learning the basics of soup, salad and pasta dishes)

Three different colored bell peppers, chopped

onion, chopped

garlic, minced

Celery, chopped

Polish kielbasa, sliced

German sausage (cannot spell it), sliced

3 cups of water

A medley of vegetables (i used zucchini, carrots and brocolli), which were frozen

Shrimp, frozen, tail on

salt/pepper

Parmesan cheese

Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

1. Saute garlic, onions, celery in olive oil. I leave them in until they start smelling really great!

2. Add the kielbasa and german sausage in. Add the bell peppers. I add the bell peppers last in saute so they would still maintain a bit of the firmness by the time you are done.

3. Add the 3 cups of water and 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Let it sit until it boils. Add the orzo pasta and cook it according to package directions. Mine was 9 minutes. Keep watch as the pasta does absorb the water.

4. Add the frozen vegetables. Flavor it with salt and pepper. Add the parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup of it. :)

5. Add the frozen shrimp last. Since the shrimp was precooked, there is no need to add it early as leaving it too long shrinks the shrimp.

6. Turn off the stove and transfer the pot on a cool one to let it sit.

Notes:

At the end of my cooking stint, I managed to get rid of my parmesan cheese, sausages, frozen vegetables, shrimp and used my bell-peppers. The dish turned out really well and my parents loved it. Get creative and start using those ingredients and leftovers to clean up your fridge as well!