Roasted Sundried Tomato Sausage & Vegetables over Parmesan Orzo

I have been volunteering with allrecipes.com for over a year now as an Allstar Brand Ambassador. As an Allstar I am tasked with activities each month. Sometimes the Allstars are asked to work with certain brands, as was the case this month, we were asked to work with al Fresco All Natural Chicken Sausage. I am not compensated for doing this, but I did receive a coupon for free sausage. With coupon in hand, I headed to the grocery to get inspired! We don't have a lot of choices around here for the al Fresco brand, but right away the Sundried Tomato Sausage caught my eye! It sounded delish, and you know what...it is delish! We really enjoyed it. I'm not a huge sausage eater, but this stuff was yummy and easy! A good combo!!

Because it is "all natural" chicken sausage, I wanted to keep my dish somewhat on the healthy side. I picked up some summer veges and some orzo pasta and got to work. The name of my original recipe is

Roasted Sundried Tomato Sausage & Vegetables over Parmesan Orzo

  

  It's a mouthful for sure, but I figure if I am going to create my own original recipe then I'm going to give it a NAME! A good strong and long name! HA! I think I accomplished that heehee  Don't let the name fool you though - it is much easier to make than it is to say <smile>

Ingredients

1 package fully cooked al Fresco Sundried Tomato Chicken Sausage, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

• 1 summer squash, sliced
• 1 red onion, cut into chunks
• 1 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pinch white sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon chicken base
• 1/2 cup Sake or dry white wine (I really like the Sake flavor in this dish)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 8 ounces orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is pre-heating, slice all your veges and mince your garlic. Place zucchini, squash, onions, mushrooms and sausage on a foil lined baking sheet. Top with garlic, olive oil, and sugar and toss gently to coat sausage and veges. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and make sure contents are in a single layer on baking sheet. Roast until veges are tender - about 20-25 mins.

While the veges are roasting, melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned. Mix the water, chicken base, and wine and slowly add to the orzo; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed - about 15-20 mins.. Mix in roasted veges and Parmesan cheese.  Be sure to taste and adjust seasonings as needed. ENJOY!

If you love roasted vegetables you need to head on over to see Shelby at Grumpy's Honey Bunch for her Roasted Garlic Artichoke recipe!!