Week 84: Buffalo Chicken Risotto

You know what one of the classiest foods you can make is? Risotto. It just SOUNDS fancy, doesn’t it? Especially if you kind of trill the “r” at the beginning. I also think it’s fancy because it takes so much work (in the form of constant stirring for about 45 minutes) to make. It’s a food that’s only for those who have the luxury of standing at the stove for ridiculous amounts of time. That being said, it wasn’t difficult work, just time-consuming.

The beauty of this dish lies in its irony. Risotto is fancy, and buffalo chicken is the quintessential “bar” food. Combine the two, and you have a elegantly hip, delicious lunch.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 ½ STARS

INGREDIENTS
4 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
¾ cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup minced celery
½ cup minced onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup dry Arborio rice
½ cup lager beer, hot
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (we used a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken)
Chopped celery for garnish
Blue cheese crumbles for garnish (I used feta because I’m not a big blue cheese fan)

DIRECTIONS
For the brodo, simmer broth, hot sauce, honey, and Worcestershire in a saucepan over medium heat.

For the risotto, sweat minced celery and onion in butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until slightly softened, 3-5 minutes. Stir in rice and sauté until each grain is coated in butter.

Deglaze the pan with beer and stir until completely absorbed, 1-2 minutes. Add brodo to the pan in ½ cup increments; simmer and stir frequently until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next, about 45 minutes total. Stir in chicken and heat through.

Garnish each serving of risotto with chopped celery and blue cheese crumbles.

Week 83: Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

My dear Meester sent me this recipe. Said that they looked like my style. Nobody knows you like your sisters!

These were both healthy and flavorful. I concluded that they wouldn't suffice if I were having a serious BURGER craving, but for those times when I don't absolutely NEED red meat, these would do the job. We ate them on sandwich-thin buns with red onion, fresh spinach, and dijon mustard. We doubled the recipe so we could have plenty leftover for lunches this week, and we even froze a few each for later.

I really liked how these were pretty easy to make, as there were few ingredients, and you simply mix them all together. The most difficult part would be going back and forth between making the patties and cooking them since your hands get really gunky. I was glad to have Abby there so she could do all the patty-flipping.

Would you judge me if I told you that the brown crispies on the bottom of the cooking pan and on the spatula were one of the best parts of this meal? Yes? Then I totally didn't scavenge every single last one before I did the dishes. Nope...

Year of Yum Rating: 4 1/2 STARS


INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg, slightly beaten
5 oz frozen spinach (about half of a box), defrosted
3/4 cup feta cheese
1 tsp salt + pinch of pepper

DIRECTIONS
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet at medium to medium-high. Mix together all ingredients with your hands and form four medium sized patties. Cook patties in a skillet for about 6 minutes per side, or until meat is completely cooked. Serve on toasted buns with extra feta, hot sauce, sliced onion, lettuce, and mustard.

Week 82: Power Frittata

I don't know if I'm the way my pants have been fitting me lately is just very motivating, or if it's the warmer weather we've been getting glimpses of that has put me in the mood, but I have been wanting to eat all of the veggies that I can lately. I was excited when Abby told me she had chosen for us to make this week, because a frittata is a GREAT and YUMMY way to get more veggies into a meal. We adapted the recipe we found on a blog by adding/nixing/replacing some of the add-in ingredients to fit our likes and dislikes. The original recipe calls for asparagus. Abs says she doesn't like asparagus, but it is now on my to-do list to prepare some asparagus on the GRILL for her and see if she can still resist it...

I was also excited to have a great use for my iron skillet, as we could use it on the stovetop, and then put it directly into the oven to finish cooking the frittata.

I expected this to taste good, but honestly I was surprised at just how flavorful it was since we didn't add ANY seasonings, spices, or additional salt. We ate our frittatas topped with a healthy dollop of light sour cream. Leftovers were just as delicious!

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS




INGREDIENTS
5 whole eggs, beaten
2 oz feta cheese
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
5 large kalamata olives, sliced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced and rinsed well

DIRECTIONS
Saute chopped broccoli and onion in olive oil in an iron skillet until slightly soft. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover with a plate, and cook on medium-low for about 8 minutes. Remove from the stove, and broil on low for 2-3 minutes until the top of the frittata looks set and slightly golden-brown. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.