Baked Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

I'm finally finding some time on this Saturday afternoon to do a little blogging. Needless to say, this week has been crazy with work, family life and a few other secretive things I've been working on. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's rainy day, I could use it to just relax and lounge around the house in hopes of recharging for another crazy week at work.

Now back to the real reason you've stopped by...FOOD. I love risotto but unfortunely my husband is not a big fan of it. He describes it as mushy rice, I just don't think he's ever had good risotto. This recipe is less time consuming than the traditional way of making risotto on the stovetop - it's baked! To make it even better, I was lucky to have a coworker give me some vension sausage from his freezer - thanks George!

3/4 lb sausage, casings removed
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
fresh chopped parsley
salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degress. In a dutch oven or large ovenproof pot with a lid, cook the sausage over medium heat, stirring to break it up. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes until browned. Spoon sausage onto a paper-towel lined plate and drain fat from pot.

Return pot to heat and add olive oil. Add onion and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until onion is soft and mushroom juices evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of warmed chicken broth, stirring to release any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in rice and cook for 3 minutes. Add 3 more cups of broth and stir to combine.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese, reserved sausage meat and the remaining chicken stock. Cover and return to the oven. Bake until rice is tender but not mushy, about 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired.

Adapted from All You Magazine, February 2011