Monthly Archives: January 2012

Sausage and Broccolini Risotto

I love risotto and this looked like it might be a good dish for a chilly night, too. I am so glad we gave this a try. It was SO good and pretty easy too.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 bunch broccolini, roughly chopped (about 8 ounces)
12 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a Dutch oven or ovenproof pot over high heat. Add the broccolini and stir-fry until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add the sausage, Italian seasoning, onion and carrot to the pot and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, about 5 more minutes. Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 more minute.

Add the wine to the pot and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and 1 cup water; cover and bring to a boil.

Transfer the pot to the oven and bake until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven. (Don’t worry if the risotto seems wet; it will thicken when you add the cheese.) Vigorously stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the cheese until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the broccolini and divide among bowls.

Did I change anything? I added the Italian seasoning and I changed the cheese in the recipe from fontina to Parmesan.

What did the family think? Everybody ate it, even our youngest,even after he had spent a good 15 minutes telling us all the reasons why he couldn’t/shouldn’t/wouldn’t eat it.

Where did this recipe come from? Food Network

Photo from Food Network

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian

Baked Spaghetti

The other day my good friend, Candy, had said that she was going to make baked spaghetti and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. That just sounded so good to me, so I went searching for a baked spaghetti recipe. This is an adapted version of Paula Deen’s baked spaghetti.

Ingredients:
4 cups pasta sauce
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, turkey or chicken
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Heat pasta sauce over medium heat in a medium sauce pan.

Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the sauce.

Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce/meat mixture. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes.

Did I change anything? This recipe has been greatly simplified by using jarred pasta sauce.

What did the family think? They really liked it. I thought it might be a bit disappointing because I thought it might taste too much just like plain spaghetti, but it was different enough to be interesting.

Where did this recipe come from? adapted from Paula Deen

photo from about.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

New Year’s Morning Brunch Buttermilk Waffles

These were a great addition to our New Year’s morning brunch. They are crispy and buttery with just a hint of vanilla…so good!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (shake before pouring into measuring cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat waffle iron.

Melt the stick of butter in a heat-proof measuring cup. Set aside to cool. You might even want to stick it in the freezer of refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.

In a large batter bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt, stirring well to combine ingredients. Create a depression in the center of the dry ingredients for the buttermilk mixture.

Beat the eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl until frothy and well-combined. Add the vanilla extract, buttermilk and cooled butter. Beat until well-combined.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredient’s depression and stir rapidly with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Using the wooden spoon, push 1/4 to 1/5 of the batter onto your waffle iron and bake until steam stops rising from the waffle iron or your personal degree of doneness is achieved.

What did the family think? Thumbs up!

Where did this recipe come from? Food. com

photo from Becoming Lola

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Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian