Vegetarian Risotto! (with Soy Chorizo, Say What!?)

It's been too long hasn't it?! At least for me it has, I missed being in the kitchen!
Well the lack of food creations are because I am in the middle of relocating (employed again, Woot!). I have finally flocked away from home (yay!)...and realized simple things like toilet paper and cooking oil doesn't just fall out of the sky... Things we take for granted right?

Anyways, seeing how the weather is starting to reach that unbearable coldness once again, the boring sandwiches I've been living on just doesn't cut it in this weather. I want something WARM. My solution (and have been craving ever since I saw that arborio rice I packed for the move) is a nice warm bowl of risotto!

Normally risotto is jam packed with creamy deliciousness and very little nutritional value...seeing how my diet has been rocky this last month due to the move, I decided, let's cut the crap (aka heavy cream and butter) and make it more nutritional and delicious too.

So here's what you need:
Will make about 3-4 servings (1 cup serving size)
1 cup of arborio rice
2 tablespoon of olive oil (I used garlic infused and skipped having to mince the garlic...lazy? yes but effective)
black pepper (optional for seasoning)
1/2 an onion (chopped)
1 zucchini (recipe called for 1 cup, I don't have my measuring cups with me, so 1 whole zucchini it shall be)
1 cup of carrots (I skipped this...figured I overdid the zucchini...but up to you)
3-4 cups of chicken broth (I used 4 cups...but that might be because I had a little more rice than the recipe called for...again, no real measuring device)
1/4 of the soy chorizo from trader joe's (optional, I just wanted some protein in my dish; FYI the casing is not edible as I had thought because I apparently don't like to read the packaging carefully and threw the plastic casing into my risotto...yum! plastic!) or any type of meat/meat substitute will do (use about 3-4oz, a standard serving of protein).

Here's what need to be done:

1. prep the veggies (chop, dice, mince, etc, whatever you like)
2. throw the chicken broth into a pan to bring to a shimmer (after it boils and shimmers, you may keep it shimmering or turn off the heat)
3. add 1 Tbsp oil to a sauce pan, throw onions and veggies into the pan and saute until golden brown and then add rice and remaining oil into pan (cook for about 5-10 mins) until rice is lightly browned.
4. Once the rice has been slightly cooked in oil, start adding the chicken broth to the rice mixture 1 cup at a time. Make sure the previous cup is fully absorbed by the rice before adding the next cup. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. This process should take about 20-30 minutes depending on how attentive you are :). While trying to watch a football game and cooking... my risotto took a little longer... :P
   

Now your turn! Have fun and enjoy!