Chicken Sausage and Brown Rice "Risotto"

I made this for lunch on Tuesday and just had to share it...

It's one of those meals that I kind of threw together. I was craving risotto, but I can't actually eat any dairy, and because I am on another Whole Life Challenge team (www.wholelifechallenge.com) for the next 52 days, I only get brown rice. No white rice for me. So with those slight dietary restrictions, this is what I came up with. :) It's not strict paleo since it incorporates rice, but for those people who have kept brown rice in their diets, it works just fine. It is AIP friendly, however (unless you are in the 6-8 week Phase 1 with no grains, no citrus).

So I start with some organic chicken sausage. No sugars, no nitrates, etc. I quarter and slice it.

I used shallots, and diced them. You could easily sub these for onions, but I happened to have shallots just sitting there. True story. My kitchen is weird that way.

I melted some coconut oil (you could sub olive oil or some other kind of healthy fat), and sauteed the sausage, shallots, and some minced garlic together. Once it is fragrant, I added in a cup of uncooked brown rice and toasted it.

Then I added chicken stock. This would be awesome with bone broth, too, but that never just "sits around" in my kitchen. It is pretty much gone as fast as I make it.

Once it was finished cooking and the rice was soft, I added in two big handfuls of arugula. Again, you could easily sub something like baby spinach, but I was feeling the arugula today. :) I also zested and juiced a whole lime in here, and I added some fresh cilantro. Delicious!

Chicken Sausage and Brown Rice "Risotto"

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil (or other healthy fat)

3 chicken sausages (about 3/4 lb), quartered and diced

2 large shallots (or 1/2 onion) diced

6 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Cup Brown Rice, uncooked

2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock (or bone broth)

2 Cups Baby Arugula

1 Lime, zested and juiced

1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Melt the coconut oil in a 3 quart pan over medium heat. Add the chicken sausage and saute until just turning brown. Then add the shallots and garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add in the brown rice and stir, letting it toast for about 2-3 minutes. Then pour in the chicken stock, stir, and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until all the liquid is incorporated and the rice is soft. This takes about 35-40 minutes. If you are using white rice instead of brown, this will take about 1/2 the time.

Once it is cooked, add in the arugula, lime zest and juice, and the fresh cilantro. Stir and serve!