Rice Pilaf with BBQ Sausage & Peppers

I apologize for the photos being sideways below. I am having some technical difficulties with blogger lately and Picasa so turning your head slightly to the right will just have to do for now!! :)

This was a quick weeknight meal last week. Hubby bought some lovely homemade sausage from a market up at the cottage and I had lots of peppers from the local farmers market. But I felt I needed some sort of starch to pull the whole meal together. Then I remembered that I had a LOT of white rice in the pantry and pulled together this little retro side dish!

 

RICE PILAF

 

1 Cup White Long Grain Rice

2 Cups low sodium chicken stock

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 Small Onion, Minced

Pinch of Saffron

Salt & Pepper

 

 

 

 

In a small pot saute the onion with the butter until onions are translucent over Medium High heat

Add your rice and stir so it is covered in the butter and onions and continue to stir for about 1 minute.

 

Add your stock, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to low.

Add 1 pinch of saffron to the rice, stir to combine and cover..allowing to simmer on low for about 25 - 30 minutes or until rice is cooked and almost no broth remains.

In the meantime BBQ your Sausage, Peppers and some onions too if you feel like it.

Rice is ready when it is fluffy and light (not sticky!)

Fluff up the rice and serve with your BBQ sausage and peppers (and in my case asparagas too!!)

 

 

Garlic Scape Pesto

This recipe is a couple of weeks late...since most people have already harvested their Garlic scape's to help promote bulb growth in their garlic!!

So a little education first!
These curly spikes growing out of  your garlic with a whitish spear at the tip? This is the garlic scape. Once they start to get curly and before the white tip starts to flower, you want to snip these off right where they meet with the rest of the plant!

Garlic Scape Pesto

 

1/2 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts

1 1/2 Cup washed and roughly chopped Fresh Basil

3/4 Cup Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Cups Chopped Garlic Scape's

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

 

Throw all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until combined into a paste.

 

Pour into cute little mason jars and refrigerate until ready to use!!! I use mine on roasted chicken breasts, Tilapia, and of course Pasta!! Just add a little more fresh Parmesan and you are ready to go!

 

 

Chimichurri Sauce!

I found some lovely steaks on sale the other week. And when my husband really took a look at them he confessed that they really were not all that lovely after all...and would most likely be a little tough. Great. This is why I leave the meat buying to him! Anyhow he said that all was not lost...and the steaks would just need a nice sauce to go with them! I knew exactly what the steaks needed and I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand! This South American sauce was gonna knock his socks off!

 

Chimichurri Sauce

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley

1 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro

1 Tbsp Minced Fresh Garlic

1 Tsp Minced White Onion

Juice of 1 Lime

1 Tsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

 

 

Finely Chop your Parsley and Cilantro

Add your Garlic and White Onion

Add the juice of 1 Lime

Season with salt and pepper and add your olive oil

Mix together and let rest in the fridge until ready to serve!

We piled it on our steaks and it was delicious!! Although no vampire was coming near us for a while!