Another risotto recipe!!! We sure do love the risotto!!! How can I top the Tomato Risotto? I can’t, I don’t think ever, but since I have my awesome risotto pan, I’m going to keep trying new recipes

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 6-8 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups of chopped crimini mushrooms
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese + more to liking
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the top off the head of garlic. Put it on a large square of aluminum foil and drizzle 1 teaspoon of the extra-virgin olive oil over the exposed cloves. Wrap the foil around and over the garlic. Roast until it is soft, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. (For more information on how to Roast Garlic, I found this web page: http://whatscookingamerica.net/rstgarlic.htm.)

For the RISOTTO portion of the dish. Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms release their juices, about 5 minutes.

Add the Arborio rice to the onion-butter mixture and mix well, so all the rice grains are coated, about 1 minute. Add the white wine to the rice mixture and continue stirring constantly to ensure that none of the rice sticks, until the wine has been completely absorbed and the rice is soft but not sticky, about 1 minute.

Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes. I use all 8 cups of the veggie broth.

During the last minutes of cooking, once the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is nice and creamy, stir in the butter, Parmesan and the garlic pulp. Serve immediately. Add salt, pepper and more Parmesan cheese to your liking.

Enjoy!!!! (Oh, when you get a garlic pulp bite during eating, it tastes amazing! Next time, I will probably figure out a way to be able to stir up the garlic a little better, whether it is to mash the garlic or add more when stirring in the risotto, but the garlic really makes it taste great.)

Creamy Mac & Cheese

I had a hankering for Mac & Cheese the other day. But how many times have we all resorted to the stuff in the box??! Um, not anymore!!! I looked for recipes online, but most of what I found had too many ingredients. Too much to it. All I wanted was simple. I wanted to use pasta, some butter and gourmet cheese…so I decided to just wing it and do it how I think I know how to and it turned out exactly what I had in mind!

Mac & Cheese Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
(I cooked enough for 2-3 servings, but make enough for what you need and wing the amount of ingredients like I did…)
• pasta
• 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 TBS of butter
• 2 TBS of milk
• Sea salt and pepper

Prepare pasta as directed. Once pasta is drained, return to pot on warm burner. Add butter, milk, cheese, salt and pepper and stir until all is melted…and perfect and creamy!

Steamed Green Beans & Carrots

So in addition to Mac & Cheese, I needed a couple other parts to this meal. Dave suggested Salmon, so he prepared the Salmon (which how to make is described here: http://www.melissascooking.com/2009/09/01/broiledsalmondish/)

Veggies were also needed to round out this meal, so I healthy steamed fresh green beans and carrots. I’ve described how to healthy steam before, but I’ll describe again…

Steamed Green Beans & Carrots Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• Fresh Green Beans (about 20-25 beans)
• Fresh carrots (about 4-5)

(Mediterranean dressing which includes…)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Healthy steam your veggies! (This is a gentle way to prepare your veggies to enhance their flavor, bring out their color, make them tender and preserves most of its ingredients.) Chop off the ends to your fresh picked green beans. Peel and chop your carrots up to about .5-1 inch chunks. Bring steaming water to a boil in your steamer pot. Add your beans and carrots. Cover and steam for 5 minutes…adding the garlic to veggies for the last 2 minutes of steaming. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the remaining Mediterranean dressing ingredients while veggies are still hot. They give you the amounts for the dressing, but I wing it….do what you want to what you like!

Enjoy!

Fairly easy dinner tonight…Bruschetta! So yummy…and until I got my food processor, I used to not mind paying the $6-10 that you do at restaurants for this, cause chopping up all the ingredients yourself is a huge pain…BUT with the food processor…easy.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• pint of cherry tomatoes
• about 1/2 cups of fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil & enough to brush on the bread
• 4 slices of gourmet bread
• slices of cheese (we used sharp cheddar, but mozzarella would work too!)
• salt and pepper

Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.

Throw the tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic, olive oil and a bit of salt into the food processor. (Or if you don’t have a processor…chop those babies up…and combine!) Get the consistency of the tomatoes being about 1/8 inches thick…gets a bit watery too and that’s ok.

Brush some olive oil onto your bread on both sides. Spoon some bruschetta to cover the bread. Place some sliced cheese on top. Grind some salt and pepper on top and stick in the oven for about 10-13 minutes (or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted).

Enjoy!!!

With the sweet potatoes and apple cider stewed together with the juicy diced tomatoes and veggie broth, and with the addition of Italian sausage, it seriously tastes what Fall should taste like. A bit on the sweeter side, but again, very seasonal and delicious. I found this recipe online, made my own adjustments and it turned out to be super yummy. Needs a tad of tweaking, but what I made is quite good!

Again, like the Burger Soup, feel free to use animal sausage…but I used the Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages…which added a nice flavor to the overall soup.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 box of Veggie Broth (4 cups)
• 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1.5 tsp of cumin
• 2 tsp of paprika
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 package of Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages (or 1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey)
•1 large (or 2 small) sweet potatoes chopped in small cubes)
• 2 cups apple cider

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes…Enjoy!

Note: This is plenty for a family of 4 to 6, but if it’s just the 2 of you, you will have enough for lunch and dinner the next day

This recipe is SO good on a chilly fall or winter day. It’s a slow cooker recipe so you can prepare everything early in the day, and then enjoy it hassle-free with some yummy gourmet bread in the evening. That’s what we did Sunday

So the original recipe I found called for 1 pound of lean ground beef…so if you like ground beef, by all means, use lean ground beef (but please make sure it’s from a happy cow that once roamed the open fields and was fed yummy grass and not yucky corn products, okay?) Same goes if you’d prefer to use lean ground turkey meat, which is what we used before I went total vegetarian. NOW I use Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages. I cut/dice up the sausages small enough for it to seem like burger meat. And the flavoring of the Italian sausage is simply perfect for this soup!

Also, I’ve diverted from the original recipe quite enough, that I feel like it’s almost my own, so I will give you the details of what ingredients I used instead of what they call for. I use more whole ingredients than what they suggested anyway, which is totally better for you

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 package of Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages (or 1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey)
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 TBS of Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of black pepper
• 3 cups of boiling water
• 1 – 16 oz can of italian seasoned diced tomatoes
• 1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• 2 TBS of soy sauce (reduced-sodium)
• 1 cup of sliced celery
• 1 cup of thinly sliced carrots
• 2 cups of cooked macaroni
• 1/4 grated parmesan cheese

Crumble up your sausage or ground meat and heat it up on the stove. (Please make sure you brown the beef/turkey. This particular sausage is already precooked. I just heat it up to put heated sausage in the stew pot.) Chop up your vegetables.

Add your ‘meat,’ onion, garlic, bell pepper, italian seasonings, salt and pepper to slow cooker. Stir in the boiling water, tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce and soy sauce. Add celery and carrots.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. (Set timer!)

About a 45 minutes before you want to eat, cook up your macaroni. Increase your stew pot heat to HIGH and stir in your cooked macaroni and Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more.

Dish some soup into your bowl, shread some more Parmesan cheese on top, serve with a side of sliced gourmet bread and enjoy! Oh, and this is plenty for a family of 4 to 6, but if it’s just the 2 of you, you will have enough for lunch and dinner the next day

This is a favorite and easy recipe to make during this awesome season of Fall. (I love Fall! I couldn’t imagine being anywhere that doesn’t get to enjoy the colorful leaves and crisp cool days…)

Anyway, in addition to random days making this, I made this dish last year for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner and for a Fall Harvest potluck we just went to over the weekend.

Ingredients include:
(Make sure you try to use all organic!)
• 1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (I used Eden Organic Dried Cranberries.)
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted (I didn’t use in case people would be allergic to nuts.)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (I used dried organic parsley.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine butternut squash, onion, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until squash and onion brown slightly, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool.

Combine squash and onion mixture, veggie broth, butter and cranberries in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add couscous and cover. Take from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in pecans and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Fluff with a fork and serve.

There will be plenty for a family gathering or expect to have leftovers if it’s just a couple people eating.

This is a favorite of ours…I found the recipe at Whole Foods’ web site and have made it several times. Takes a little prep time, then time in the oven (to bake the pie crust). It’s very filling and nutritious with all the veggies used!

Ingredients include:
(Make sure you buy organic!!!)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup canned soybeans
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup sweet corn (from about 1 large ear)
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (which I didn’t use because they didn’t have an organic one at the store…)
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 2 frozen prepared pie crusts, thawed (I used an organic whole wheat crust.)
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used shredded mild chedder cheese for this pie.)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soybeans, carrots, onions, corn, broccoli, bell peppers, and spinach and cook until tender-crisp. Add garlic, nutmeg, salt, pepper and pecans and cook for 5 minutes, or until the flavors blend. Set vegetable mixture aside.

Line a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with one of the prepared crusts. Layer the vegetables with the cheese in the pan, beginning with the cheese and ending with the vegetables. Top with remaining crust, seal edges with a fork and trim off excess pie dough. With a sharp knife, poke vent holes in the top of the crust. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown. Set aside for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

This lasts us each for 2 dinner nights and lunch the next day.

ALSO…although there were plenty of vegetables served within this dish, I still had a hankering for a side of…

Steamed Kale

I used (for 2 servings):
• 2 stems of kale (chopped)
• Mediterranean dressing
— Extra virgin olive oil
— lemon juice
— 1 clove of garlic minced
— salt and pepper

Prepare your steamer pot. Steam the kale for no more than 5 minutes. (Do not overcook!)
Toss with the Mediterranean dressing and enjoy!

This is a recipe that I came up with and it’s a one that we love. I’ll make this often cause it’s easy and good and nutritious! Quinoa, if you’ve never had it, is really good by itself, but adds a good texture to soups, stews and chili. Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source, with it’s protein content being very high (12%–18%)…good for the vegetarians!

Ingredients I use:
• 1 cup of quinoa (I use Ancient Harvest Inca Red Quinoa)
• 2 cups of reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 1 jar of organic salsa (I use the black bean and corn salsa from Roots)
• 15oz (can) organic black beans
• 15oz (can) organic corn
• 32oz (can) organic diced tomatoes
• seasonings to include: cumin, cilantro, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper
• organic blue chips
• organic low-fat sour cream (optional)
• guacamole (I like to buy from whole foods, or you could make fresh) (optional)
• organic mix of mexican shredded cheese (optional)

First I get the quinoa cooking. I bring to a boil the veggie broth with the quinoa. Once boiling, simmer for 15 minutes, covered. (You know when the quinoa is done when the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it like al dente pasta.)

As the quinoa is cooking, start heating up in a larger pot, the salsa, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes. I sprinkle in the cumin, cilantro, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper…adding not too much, but just as much as I see fit. Stir together and let that heat up on medium-low heat.

Once the quinoa is done, (drain the little bit of liquid that may be leftover, and) add that to the pot of everything else. Stir together.

I serve it in a bowl with cheese on top to melt and with the blue chips on the side. Scooping the chili/cheese with the chips and dipping that all in with sour cream and/or guacamole…..YUMMMMMMMMY!!!!! I’ve made this for a family gathering before, and it was a complete hit….so easy to make and SO DELICIOUS!

If you are making this for just yourself and your significant other, you will have leftovers for the next day’s lunch and dinner…but I’m sure is plenty for a family of 4 or more

This evening, I made this really delicious dish that I found, again, using the The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I have yet to go wrong with this cookbook. This book was recommended by my sister (the one studying in Seattle at Bastyr University), where the authors also attended this school. Definitely worth getting this cookbook, if you don’t buy any other cookbook.

Anyway, this dish has a great flavor and texture with the raw kale, red bell pepper, green onions and cooked wild rice all combined at the end. I typically don’t do seconds with meals, and I totally did with this one. Nice and light and very nutritious!

Wild Rice and Kale Salad ingredients include:
• 1-1/2 cups wild rice
• 3-3/4 cups water
• pinch of sea salt
• 5 curly green kale leaves, washed and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
• 1 bunch of green onions, cut into thin rounds
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or I just squeezed a half of lemon)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

First place the rice, water and sea salt into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 55 minutes, remove from heat and let stand at least 30 minutes to cool. (Or I just started the next step after the rice was done simmering and that’s how long I let my rice cool.)

Prepare your veggies, and place the chopped kale, diced red bell pepper, sliced green onions, lemon juice, and olive oil into a large bowl and gently toss. It says to add rice and sea salt & pepper and toss again, but I preferred to keep the rice and veggies separate (as pictured). I still combined as I was eating and it tasted amazing, but just wanted the ingredients to be separate on the plate. But totally combine before serving if you so choose.

You can store the extra rice salad in a glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days. (good to know, right?)

Enjoy! I definitely did!

Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. Having had it a couple of times, once at our favorite local relatives, Jay & Kellie, (who love Italian cuisine) and then the other time, my husband and I had from a box bought at the store…I decided to find a recipe and make it from scratch myself.

This particular recipe I had found in my cookbook called One-Dish Vegetarian Meals. It takes a while to make, esp. given the vegetables that need chopped accordingly beforehand, and then as the rice is cooking, you need to be at the stove stirring pretty much constantly. But be patient! The end result is definitely worth it

Oh, and as a side to the Risotto, I decided to healthy boil up some flat-leaf spinach as well, which you can find out how to do that within my Yummy Veggie Wrap blog here.

Risotto Primavera ingredients include:
• 4 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
(says it serves 4, but it could be more or less depending on how much you eat, obviously)

In a medium-size saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and keep it at a simmer.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the bell pepper, carrots, zucchini and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the rice, and stir to coat with oil. Add the wine and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until it has been absorbed.

Add 1/2 cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer. Continue cooking, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender but still firm and the risotto is thick and creamy. This should take about 25 minutes (and you may not even need all of the stock.) Add salt and pepper, then add the parsley and lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.