Sausage and Yellow Pepper Risotto

I was poking around in the pantry wondering what to make for dinner tonight and I noticed I had some arborio rice in there. Hmmmm..........maybe I'll make a risotto? I rounded up a few ingredients and in no time at all we had ourselves a tasty dinner in a bowl. I heated up a couple frozen Alexia brand Flax dinner rolls and poured some Malbec---dinner:  done!

Sausage Yellow Pepper Risotto (this dish can be made with many different ingredients!)

2 links (fully cooked) hot Italian sausage, diced
Pkg. of sliced mushrooms, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 medium onion,  diced
3/4 cup arborio rice
4 cups water
1 t smoked paprika
1 t pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
olive oil

Heat 2 T olive oil in deep skillet. Sauté onions, pepper, and mushrooms for five minutes letting them brown and cook down a bit, add sausage and cook for a few more minutes. Sprinkle paprika and pepper over all. Stir in rice and stir around a bit and then add the water. Bring to a boil and then settle the cooking down to a medium simmer for about 25 minutes or so. Keep simmering until the water is absorbed.  Scoop into bowls and top with Parmesan. Some people might want to add some salt to this dish. I didn't think it needed it, but my hubby added some to his.

The final result was tasty but not really a proper risotto. I would call this a first cousin of risotto.