Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

Watching Hell's Kitchen has inspired me to want to try risotto. I was hopeful that Gordon Ramsey wouldn't show up in my kitchen screaming, "YOU'RE SWEATING IN THE RISOTTO! IT'S SAAAWLTY!" Luckily, all went well for my first risotto, it was much easier than I expected. I did make the mistake of using regular chicken broth instead of low sodium, so the finished product turned out a little more salty than I would have liked. But I assure you, it had nothing to do with sweat and everything to do with salty broth. However, it did result in me doing some giggling and a Ramsey IT'S SAAAAAWLTY! impression during Christmas dinner.

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

Source: foodfit.com

Ingredients:

• about 3 cups of chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth (I heated about 4 cups and used most of it)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup diced onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 roasted red pepper

Directions:

• Heat the stock in a saucepan and keep hot over low heat.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a separate medium-sized pot. Add the onion and cook until it turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
• Add the rice to the onion mixture, stir and turn the heat to low. Add about 1 cup of the hot stock to the rice mixture, and stir slowly until the stock is absorbed.
• Continue to add the stock 1 cup at a time, stirring slowly, letting the rice absorb the stock before adding more.
• The risotto is cooked when it is creamy on the outside and slightly firm (al dente) in the center, about 20 to 25 minutes in all. Stir in half of the Parmesan cheese and half of the red pepper strips. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the risotto is too thick, add a little more stock until it becomes creamy.
• Divide the risotto into serving dishes and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and red pepper strips.

Broccoli Salad

This is one of my favorite summer salads. I love the sweet and tangy dressing. Unfortunately I don't make it often because of all of the cheese and bacon. It's a nice change from heavy potato and pasta salads though. This recipe is great using Splenda instead of sugar.

Broccoli Salad

Source: Cooks.com

Ingredients:

• 2 large bunches raw broccoli, cut into flowerets
• 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 c. grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 c. mayonnaise

Directions:

• Mix mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together.
• Add onion, bacon and cheese.
• Pour over broccoli in a bowl. Stir until broccoli is lightly coated.
• Chill for a few hours, or overnight.

Not really blogworthy...or healthy...but delicious!

Ok, so these potatoes are not really blogworthy since it's barely a "recipe" (and one found on the back of a box at that!). And, they are very greasy. However, if you've never had them, I would suggest giving them a try once. We love cooking these in foil packets on the campfire!

Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Roasted Potatoes
Source: Lipton

Ingredients:

• 1 envelope Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Onion Soup Mix
• 4 all-purpose potatoes, cut into large chunks
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

• In a large casserole dish, mix all ingredients until potatoes are evenly coated
• Bake at 425 degrees, uncovered, stirring occassionally, 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown
  

Fluffy Biscuits

So after the strawberry cupcakes and cornbread, I STILL had a ton of buttermilk left. So what better to use it for than fluffy buttermilk biscuits? I used these as a base for my chicken & biscuits, (which will be my next post), but I'm sure they would taste great warm with a little butter too! Enjoy.





Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
From elly says opa! and Cook's Illustrated
Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 pound unsalted, chilled butter cut into 1/4" cubes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a mixing bowl or the bowl of your food processor. With pastry blender or the steel blade of your food processor, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
• If mixing by hand, stir in the buttermilk with a spatula or fork until the mixture is a soft, slightly sticky ball. Add more buttermilk if necessary. If using a food processor, add the buttermilk and pulse process until dough gathers into moist clumps. Remove and form into a ball.
• Lightly flour your hands and divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Lightly pat a portion of the dough back and forth until a ball forms, and then pat lightly with cupped hands to form a rough ball. Place formed dough rounds 1" apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush dough tops with melted butter. Bake until biscuit tops are lightly brown, about 10-12 minutes.
  
  

Buttermilk Cornbread

I'm not a big fan of cornbread, but my husband likes it. I ran across this recipe while trying to figure out what to do with all the buttermilk I had left over from the strawberry cupcakes. I can't really give a review of this recipe since I don't like cornbread, but it smelled great, and my husband seemed to like it.




Buttermilk Cornbread
From Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square pan.
• Melt butter in large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.