Week 40: Balsamic Roasted Mushroom Risotto (...ish)

REALLY, it was "Balsamic Roasted Mushroom Rice." When I was last-minute-shopping for ingredients, I had trouble finding the correct type of rice. Apparently you need arborio rice to make risotto. Something about the slow-releasing starch that makes it nice and creamy. I got brown basmati rice instead, and even though it was delicious, it definitely was NOT risotto. It also posed some problems when we cooked it, and we ended up adding more liquid, and cooking for additional time with the lid on the pan until the rice was no longer crunchy!

I also used two different kinds of mushrooms: regular white and baby portabellas. The variety was nice.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
•24 ounces mushrooms (white, cremini, baby portabella or a mixture)
•2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
•3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
•1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
•2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
•1 cup arborio rice
•2 shallots, diced
•3 cups vegetable broth
•1 cup water
•1/4 cup dry white wine
•1 tablespoon butter
•2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese
•sea salt and black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove stems from mushrooms (discard) and thinly slice the mushrooms. Combine with garlic and rosemary. Toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place on a foil lined baking sheet, spreading the mixture out, and roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the broth and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed. Heat the remaining oil (1/2 tablespoon) in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute the shallot, about 1 minute. Add the rice, stirring to coat with oil, and cook about 2 minutes. When the rice begins to take on a light golden color, pour in the wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed.

Add half of broth and water mixture to the rice a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Stir in the roasted mushrooms and any accumulated juices. Add the remaining broth mixture to the rice a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 10 minutes more.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter and romano. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Week 39.5: Chicken Cordon Bleu with White Wine Sauce

This is one I did on my own. I didn't really have a reason to cook, besides it being something to do, and this had been a recipe that had caught my eye earlier this week. Here are some things that I learned in this kitchen this afternoon:

1. Cooking with wine makes almost anything taste fancy. And it totally made me FEEL fancy.

2. Chicken is kinda gross to work with(chalk a point up for my "I could definitely be a vegetarian if I wanted/needed to be" argument...).

3. I can improvise in a recipe, and it just might turn out okay. In this case, I made the following alterations:

-It called for "dry white wine" but to be honest with you, I don't really know what that means. I just used whatever I had in my fridge...

-I was supposed to use heavy whipping cream in the sauce, but only had half and half, so just used that.

-I took out some aggression...I mean...methodically crushed some bouillon cubes since I didn't have "granules."

4. Sometimes it's okay...and even necessary...to use tools from your toolbox while cooking. Today: needle-nosed pliers. Clean, of course.

5. I need to stop cooking way more food than I can possible eat. I have so many left-overs in my fridge right now, it's ridiculous. Anyone want to come have lunch with me?

Anyway, this CCB with WWS was pretty delicious. I got a few bites, and then threw the rest in the fridge where it will wait to go to left-over heaven. It was a little more labor-intensive than I am used to when cooking alone, but I think it was worth it. I ended up cutting the chicken, cheese, ham, and butter in half because I just wasn't getting out of the chicken breasts what I needed to. I ended up with three good, usable pieces, and then a ton of little pieces that wouldn't work for CCB, but will be great in stir-fry or calzones later.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
6 thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices ham
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. This is something I had to experiment with. I ended up kind of threading the toothpicks through the chicken edges, kind of like a safety pin...does that make sense?

Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.



Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.


I wasn't sure if I would be able to tell when the sauce was thick enough, but it ended up being kind of obvious when it would part to see the bottom of the pan before slowly filling in.

Week 39: Taco Soup

This recipe came from Abby's staff cookbook from her school. I would probably go so far as to say that it was the most delicious taco soup I've ever had. I've just tried a lot of taco soup that lacked the flavor that I was looking floor. This soup just did it for me. It might have been the V8 as the "broth" that sucked me in. Not to mention the fact that it was so incredibly easy to make...


Year of Yum Rating: 5 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. cooked ground beef (we used 93/7...and we didn't drain it after we browned it)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can garbanzo beans (drained)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can whole kernel corn
1 48-oz. jug of V8 juice
1 package taco seasoning
Can add green peppers and onions if desired (OF COURSE we desired, we put in a whole of each)

DIRECTIONS
Drain beans and combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil for at least 30 minutes. Serve. If you are anything like me, don't even THINK about serving it without sour cream.

(See, I told you it was easy!)



With a cold Boulevard Wheat...perfect.

Week 38: Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

I saw this on one of my food blogs, and knew that I would be making it at some point because I LOVE the flavor of buffalo sauce. Buffalo chicken sandwiches, buffalo chicken calzones, buffalo chicken dip...I like it all.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

I really enjoyed the flavor. I would have considered given this recipe the coveted 5 STARS if the texture were just a little more palatable. It was a little wetter than I was looking for. Maybe a little less milk next time? Perhaps I should cook it longer also.

INGREDIENTS
Olive oil spray
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup fat free milk
1/3 cup hot sauce, plus more to sprinkle on top
1 lb extra-lean ground chicken breast
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crumbled reduced fat blue cheese



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly mist a 9” x 5” x 3” nonstick loaf pan with olive oil spray.

Combine oats and milk in a medium size mixing bowl. Mix well. Let stand for 3 minutes or until oats are softened. Stir in hot sauce until well mixed. Add chicken, celery, carrots, onion, egg whites, and salt. With fork, mix ingredients well. Add blue cheese and gently mix.

Transfer mixture to pan and spread so that top is flat. Sprinkle on a couple shakes of hot sauce and spread evenly. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Cut into 8 slices. Makes 4 servings.




This meatloaf clearly wasn't very photogenic, especially after I already tried to cut into it before Abby reminded me that I might want to take a picture. Please don't hold that against it.

Week 37: Pioneer Woman's Cauliflower Soup

Today Abby and I had a snow day! What better to make on a snow day than soup?

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS (only because there's sour cream in the bottom of our bowls!)

INGREDIENTS
1 stick Butter
½ whole Onion, Finely Diced
1 whole Carrot Finely Diced
1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced
1 whole (to 2 Whole) Cauliflower Heads (roughly Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley (chopped)
2 quarts Low-sodium Chicken Broth Or Stock
6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Half-and-half
2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste
1 cup (heaping) Sour Cream, Room Temperature


I got to use my giant knife for the first time to "whack" this head of cauliflower in half!





DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.





In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.
Serve immediately.