Fall in love with Orzo

This year, like every year, I am excitedly ready for Autumn! And even though I typically try to hold out to do any fall like things, such as decorations, filling my house with lovely fall scented candles, and making yummy fall-tastic meals, this year I just couldn't help myself. So last weekend I dove head first into Autumn, and made my first Autumn dinner of the year. Orzo with ginger caramelized fall veggies. SO YUMMY!!! As you get to read this more and get to know me more you will start to learn a few things about me. One thing I like to do is prep things in advance. Not typically days, but if I know I'm making something with a lot of chopping and dicing, I typically try to do that long before dinner so that when it comes time to cook, all I have to do is cook! :)

Here is a lovely picture off all my sliced, diced, chopped, minced, and grated ingredients!

All fresh, organic (except the ginger), and looking so yummy I was ready to dive right in! But alas, it was about 10am, no where near dinner time. So I stuffed it all into my fridge and went about my day, doing laundry, watching hours of football, and enjoying a lovely Sunday, until finally it was time to make dinner!

All the yummy ingredients for my delicious dinner

A delightful bounty full of yummy veggies, beautiful colors, and delicious ingredients. And, without further ado, here is the recipe, in case anyone wants to give it a whirl!

Ingredients :

• Salt
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta
• Vegetable oil
• 1 large sweet potato (about 3/4 pound)
• 2 medium onions (about 1 pound), finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-inch piece fresh ginger — peeled and grated, about 1 tablespoon
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps diced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 big leaves chard or kale, stalks removed and leaves finely chopped — about 2 cups
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan, optional
• Aidele's Chicken Apple Sausage 2 links

Directions:

Cook your orzo for about 6 minutes, until barely done. Drain it and toss with about a tbsp of olive oil and set aside.

In a separate pan cook the sausages until done. Wait to slice them into bite sized pieces until you are ready to add them to vegetable near the end.

Peel and cut the sweet potato into about 1/2 inch cubes. Heat a large frying pan and add a little vegetable oil and heat until very hot. Add the sweet potatoes and arrange them in one layer. Cook them over high heat until they begin to caramelize and brown (about 4 minutes). Flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes or so.

Turn down the heat and push the sweet potatoes up in a pile against one side of the pan. Next, add the onion to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook,, until the onions are begin to brown. Add the garlic and ginger and mix them into the onions. Push the onions off to the side of the pan, next to the sweet potatoes.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook them for 4 minutes. Then flip and cook for another 4 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Add to the pan and mix with the vegetables. Cook all together for about 3 minutes. Then turn the heat up to high.

Add the orzo gradually, stirring and scraping constantly. Cook the orzo with the vegetables for about 5 minutes,browning the orzo.

And your sliced up sausages.

Finally, add the greens to the mix and cook for 1 more minute or until the greens are barely wilted. Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot, and enjoy!

The final product!

My hubby gave it two thumbs way up!!! So, give it a try and let me know what you think!