Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • Extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
  • 1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed (I used 1/2 sweet & 1/2 spicy chicken sausage))
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 4 red peppers (sliced about 1/4" thick)
  • 1 large onion (sliced about 1/4" thick)
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 29 ounce reduced sodium chicken broth (2 - 14.5 ounce cans )
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 pound dried orzo pasta
  • 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend
  • 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (grated)
  • 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Instruction

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a sauce pan over high heat add chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Add salt and orzo. Boil 7 minutes or until just shy of al dente. Place a sieve over a bowl in your sink. Drain orzo into sieve, reserving the cooking liquid.
  • While the orzo is cooking, in a large skillet over medium heat drizzle olive oil. Once pan is warm, add sausage and fry until almost cooked through.
  • Remove sausage and put in a covered bowl, leaving drippings in pan. Return skillet to medium heat and add onions, garlic and peppers to the pan drippings.
  • Cook until onions are translucent. Turn heat down to med-low and return sausage to pan, add Italian seasoning, stir to combine and warm until orzo is done.
  • Add cooked orzo to a 9x13 baking dish, add sausage mixture. Add reserved cooking liquid to make very moist, approximately 1/2 - 1 cup. Add Italian cheese blend and stir to combine.
  • Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs to cover completely. Drizzle olive oil over bread crumbs.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is browned and breadcrumbs are slightly crisp.
  • Remove from oven and serve.