Monterey Jack, Corn and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

When I was trying to find a side dish to go with last night's pecan chicken, I remembered a recipe for cream corn risotto I stumbled across in one of my cooking magazines. Unfortunately, I couldn't find that recipe, but a quick Google search brought up a Cooking Light recipe that sounded so delicious, I just knew I had to try it.

This was my first time making risotto, and I have to say that I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. The consistency was perfectly creamy with just the right amount of heat hitting the back of the tongue; the only problem was that it definitely needed salt, which the recipe doesn't call for. As soon as I tasted it, I flashed immediately on Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen, yelling at the chefs for bland risotto. I will definitely make this again, but next time I will be sure to add salt. I can cross risotto off the list of dishes that intimidate me!


Monterey Jack, Corn, and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto
Source: My Recipes, originally seen in Cooking Light

1 3/4 cups water
2 14 1/2-ounce cans vegetable broth
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional) (I didn't use)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup thinly sliced green onions (omitted; I didn't have any)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn
3/4 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers (I used fire-roasted)

1. Combine water and broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep broth mixture warm over low heat.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice, cumin, coriander (if desired), and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup broth mixture; cook 2 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of liquid is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in the onions, cheese, hot sauce, corn, and bell peppers; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Paula Deen's Pecan Chicken

I can't believe I'm saying this, but last night, I made a Paula Deen recipe that was actually a little bit disappointing. I'd been looking forward to trying her pecan chicken since I put it on the menu last week, but in the end I just wasn't blown away by it. The crust didn't get nearly as crispy as I would have liked; it looks crispier in the pictures than it actually was. I wonder if this has something to do with the fact that I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in chicken; I'm not sure. In any case, I don't know if I'll be making this again.


Pecan Chicken
Source: The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook, also found on Food Network

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pecans
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sesame seeds (omitted; I didn't have any)
2 (2 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into quarters or pieces (I used one pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Melt butter in a 10 x 15-inch baking pan. In a shallow dish, combine buttermilk and egg. In another dish combine flour, pecans, salt, paprika, pepper, and sesame seeds.

3. Dip chicken in buttermilk then in flour. Place skin side down in melted butter. Turn to coat and leave skin side up. Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. (I reduced the cooking time since I used chicken breasts.)

Broccoli Ham Turnovers

Last night's dinner was so, so good. Of course, when you stuff pretty much anything in a pie crust it's bound to be tasty, but the combination of broccoli, ham and cheese in this dish was particularly delicious. What's awesome about this is that you can stuff the pastry with pretty much anything -- berries and cream cheese, apple pie filling, pizza ingredients, tons of vegetables, or spinach, roasted red peppers and feta...I now have a thousand different recipe ideas, all thanks to this recipe! This was a delicious, comforting dinner, and I definitely recommend that you start "stuffing" things in your kitchen!


Broccoli Ham Turnovers
Source: Taste of Home's Best of Country Breakfast and Brunch, also found on the Taste of Home website

2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used about 1 cup of shredded cheese and 1/2 cup of Velveeta)
1/2 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (omitted)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pastry for double-crust pie
1 egg
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

1. Place broccoli in a steamer basket over 1 inch of boiling water in a saucepan. Cover and steam for 5-8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Rinse in cold water; drain well.

2. In a bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, ham, onions, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

3. On a floured surface, roll out pastry; cut each in half. Place 1 and 1/2 cups filling on one side of each half; flatten filling with a spoon. Combine egg and cream; brush some over pastry edges. Fold pastry over filling. Seal edges and prick tops with a fork.

4. Place on a baking sheet; brush with remaining egg mixture. Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Taco Salad

Last night I didn't feel like cooking anything even remotely complicated, so I turned to an old favorite, one for which I always have all of the ingredients on hand: taco salad. There's no real recipe here; just throw together your favorite combination of taco ingredients and you're good to go. Below is the list of what I use for our favorite version of this salad.

Taco Salad
Source: Cassie

1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 pound ground beef, cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning
1 box Mexican-style rice, cooked according to package directions
1 can refried beans, warmed
1 can Mexicorn
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Arrange lettuce in a bowl. Top with remaining ingredients in this order: Mexicorn, refried beans, rice, ground beef, shredded cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Crumble tortilla chips over the top.

Oh my stars, Baklava Bars!

I've discovered that the only time I'm really able to bake now that I have Andrew is after he's gone to bed in the evenings. He goes to sleep at 7:30, so I still have plenty of time, but baking at night has been an adjustment. I guess the plus side is that now I get to go to sleep with the smell of delicious baked goods permeating my senses!

Baklava is my favorite dessert EVER. When I was younger, my mom dated a man whose mother made baklava all the time, and she always sent some over with him. When he and my mom broke up, I was more upset about losing my baklava hookup than anything else!

When this recipe was sent to me in my weekly Betty Crocker e-mail, I knew I had to make these bars right away. And they did not disappoint. They have all the flavor of a piece of baklava, but they're not nearly as tedious to put together as the traditional dessert. They are very, very rich and super-sticky, just like good baklava should be. Joe and I both really enjoyed these; Joe's only complaint was that the fillo shells cut the roof of his mouth. I didn't have that problem, but that could be because I was too busy enjoying the flavor and stuffing my face!


Baklava Bars
Source: Betty Crocker

Cookie base:
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 egg

Filling:
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 frozen mini fillo shells

Glaze:
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350°. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir walnuts, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt with fork until mixture is well mixed and crumbly.

4. Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over partially baked base. With hands, crumble frozen fillo shells evenly over nut mixture. Bake 18 to 20 minutes longer or until golden brown.

5. Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave 1/3 cup honey, 2 tablespoons butter, the brown sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon uncovered on High 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in vanilla.

6. Drizzle honey mixture evenly over fillo. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

7. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Before serving, drizzle 1/2 teaspoon honey over each bar. Store covered at room temperature.