Sausage Jambalaya

Recently my hubby confessed to me that since I started working in the evenings as well as during the day that he sometimes just eats chips for dinner.  Or nothing at all.  And the only vegetables he eats is when he gets green peppers on his pizza.  So, I felt a little guilty, not a lot guilty, because he is a grown man, but he has come dependent on me to make sure he eats healthy.  The problem is we don't like a lot of the same food.  My favourite foods are pastas and soups...which are 2 things he will only eat 'if he has to'.  His favourite vegetables are green peppers, which is one of the few that I don't like.  And I'm mostly vegetarian, while he's a meat lover.  Which means when I cook a bunch of delicious food on Sundays to get me through the week, he's basically left on his own.
So I decided to make something just for him.  With lots of meat, peppers, and spiciness.  I decided to make a slow cooker sausage jambalaya.  I did all the chopping when I got home from work at night, and then in the morning just took the crock pot out of the fridge and plugged it in.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.  All he had to do was make some rice when he got home to serve it with.  And I bought pre-cooked sausages to make it with, just so there was one less step.

Sausage Jambalaya

4 cooked sausages
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
1 orange pepper (or red, or yellow...)
2 ribs of celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
Rice to serve it with

Remove casings from sausages and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Finely dice all of the vegetables.  Put all of the ingredients, except the rice, into a slow-cooker and cook on low for 7 hours.  Serve on top of a bed of rice.

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup

I love making soup.  And eating soup.  I try to make a pot of soup each Sunday so I have something homemade and healthy to eat for lunch all week.  I'm lucky in that my hubby doesn't particularly groove on soup, so I don't have to share it with him.  I do sometimes share with my mom-in-law though, since she comes over to let my dog out when she has days off.  But it's still hard to share! 
This soup has quickly become one of my favourites.  I had printed off the recipe years ago from some random website, but just never got around to making it.  I think the long list of ingredients was daunting.  But it's easy to make, as most soups are, and it is a treat to your taste buds!  I actually did share this one, because it makes such a big amount I thought I would bring some in to work.  My co-workers loved it, and all of them asked for the recipe. 

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ginger, minced

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

1 can diced tomatoes

1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

4 ½ cups water

1 tsp salt

¼ cup chopped, unsalted peanuts

1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 tbsp peanut butter 

1 bunch chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat.  Sauté the onion for 10 min, until lightly browned.  Mix in the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cloves.  Stir in the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrot, and continue to cook and stir for about 5 minutes.

Pour water into the saucepan, add salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove soup from heat and blend with the peanuts in a food processor until almost smooth.  Season with cayenne pepper.  Return to heat, whisk in peanut butter, and cook until heated through.  Serve topped with cilantro.

Risotto Delicioso

Anything that contains wine and cheese just has to be good, and this Squash Risotto is no exception!  I love risotto, and usually just make a delicious lemon and herb one, but since it's fall I thought a Butternut Squash Risotto would taste fantastic.  And it did!  The first time I tried making this it turned out too mushy, so I have made some changes and it worked much better this time.  Now, I'm not gonna lie, risotto is a pain to make.  It's easy, but it involves a lot of stirring.  My arm was cramping up by the end!  But it's soooo worth it!  The important thing to remember when making risotto is to be patient.  When I made risotto for the first time I was so hungry that I started adding more and more liquid at a time, and then it ended up being mushy.  Just add a 1/2 cup at a time and wait for it to absorb before adding more. (I heat my stock by microwaving it in a 4-cup pyrex measuring bowl, then it's easy to see how much to add a time.)  And once it's close to being done, test the rice before adding more liquid, because you might add more than you need and end up with...that's right, mushy risotto.  But don't worry, it will still taste delicious even if it is too soft!

Butternut Squash Risotto

-2 tbsp butter
-1 medium onion, diced
-2 1/2 cups squash, cubed into bite sized pieces (1/2" pieces)
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-3 to 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth, simmering
-1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
-1/2 cup white wine
-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a medium sized pot over medium heat, add onion and cook for 2 minutes.  Add squash and cook for another minute.  Stir in garlic and a 1/2 cup of the broth.  Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add rice and stir for 2 minutes.  Add wine, and stir constantly until almost absorbed, about 2-3 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of the stock, stirring constantly, until absorbed.  Continue adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice is tender - about 20 minutes. 
Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and pepper, if desired.