mushroom-asparagus risotto

I have been playing around with risotto for at least the last year. I love it! Every time I make it, I feel like I'm in a gourmet restaurant (or a contestant on Hell's Kitchen, but let's not go there right now). And I love the endless combinations of add-ins. I used to make my mushroom risotto with mushrooms, onion, and a little goat cheese. But I think I have found an even better combo! I'm excited to share it with you, and then to eat leftovers for lunch!

Mushroom-Asparagus Risotto

Prep and cooking time = up to an hour
Serves 4-6

butter or olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used a combo of baby bellas and shitakes)
1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup white wine (optional)
1 quart vegetable broth
1 bunch asparagus, chopped and steamed
1 cup shredded smoked gouda
salt and pepper, to taste

In a small pan, heat the vegetable broth until simmering
In another pan (or the microwave if you're so inclined) steam the asparagus until bright green. This can be set aside, covered, until time to add to the risotto.
In a very large pan (a wok works great), heat 1-2 tablespoons oil or butter over medium-high
Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until beginning to soften
Add a little more (1 Tbsp) oil or butter, then add risotto, stirring to coat
Let cook for just a minute or two, then add wine *if not using wine, start adding broth
Once wine is absorbed (3-5 minutes), begin adding broth 1/2 to 1 cup at a time

*The secret with risotto is to add the hot broth in small batches and allowing most of it to absorb into the rice before adding more. During this process, you must be constantly stirring
**When you are nearing the end of your broth supply, start testing the rice by biting into it. The risotto should offer a little resistance, but not be hard or crunchy in the middle, much like al dente pasta
***If you run out of broth and the rice is not cooked through, add hot water a little at a time

Once your risotto is the perfect texture, turn your burner off
Season with salt and pepper, if desired
Stir in a little butter, if desired, to add a little extra creaminess
Stir in asparagus and cheese
Serve and fall in love!

Happy, healthy eating!

hanukkah is not just for adam sandler

My almost-6 year old asked to celebrate Hanukkah this year. Not really knowing what to serve for our celebratory dinner other than latkes and challah bread, I turned to my trusted friend allrecipes.com. I get a lot of ideas for recipes from this site, though I rarely make them as posted. I find recipes with good reviews, read the reviews, then come up with something (hopefully) yummy on my own. I came across a recipe for Applesauce Noodle Kugel that sounded great and decided to put my own twist on it. Here's what I came up with...

Apple Cinnamon Kugel

12 oz (3/4 package) wide egg noodles, boiled until al dente
1-1/2 sticks melted butter, divided
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup applesauce
2 small apples, thinly sliced
cinnamon, to taste
6-8 graham crackers, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while noodles are boiling.
Mix melted butter (reserving a few tablespoons), yogurt, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and applesauce
Stir in cooked noodles and apple slices
Pour into greased 9x13 glass baking dish
Sprinkle cinnamon over top
For topping, mix graham crumbs with reserved butter and sprinkle over top
Bake 45-55 minutes, covering with foil if top begins to dry out
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving

This is by no means healthy, but it is very happy to the tummy! Having no idea what kugel should look or taste like, I think it turned out great. It's more of a dessert flavor, although I have been eating leftovers for breakfast all week. Perhaps you will, too...

Happy, healthy eating!

eggplant napoleon

We're having one of my recent favorites for dinner tonight!  This recipe is highly adaptable, so feel free to adjust to suit your tastes.

Eggplant Napoleon

1 eggplant
salt
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 cup almond flour (or panko, or breadcrumbs)
1 small log goat cheese or fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 ripe tomato, sliced

Wash and slice eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds. Salt both sides and set aside for about 30 minutes
Rinse eggplant and pat dry
Preheat oven to 350
Brush ranch on eggplant rounds then coat in almond flour or breadcrumbs (both sides)
Bake for 15 minutes in a greased glass casserole dish
Flip then bake for 15 minutes more
Top with cheese and tomato slices then return to oven for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is warm and bubbly
* Make sure eggplant is soft, but not too soft!

So good!  Mine are ready to flip - only 30 minutes left til dinnertime!

shrooms and spinach skillet

For dinner last night, I threw together one of my quick and easy favorites. It takes 20 minutes, tops, and tastes delish!

At-Home Vegan Shrooms and Spinach Skillet

1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup baby portabellas, sliced
1 cup sundried tomatoes OR roasted tomatoes OR 2-3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
approx 1 bag or 4 huge handfuls baby spinach
salt to taste, if using fresh tomatoes
1 box whole wheat couscous

1. Over medium high, cook garlic and onion until onion begins to sweat
2. Start boiling water for couscous (once water boils and you add the couscous, it can sit covered until ready to serve)
3. To skillet, add mushrooms and tomatoes and cook until tender
4. Add spinach, by the handful, until wilted
5. Serve over couscous

Simple. Delicious. Dinner.

Happy, healthy eating!

success at the dinner table!

As a mom of two preschoolers, I tend to turn small milestones into huge events. Take, for example, my picky eater. She used to eat only bread, cheese, and blueberries. The cheese could not be on the bread but had to be eaten separately. The day she ate a grilled cheese, I may have wept openly. Needless to say, the peanut butter sandwich was a huge accomplishment, as was the salami sandwich earlier this summer. Imagine, salami AND cheese in between bread!

But I digress. My kids, as you may have guessed, are not vegetarian and neither is my husband. This has made dinnertime a huge hassle for me, the Maker of the Dinner. This past week, I decided to try an experiment. I said, "I am going to cook one meal for everyone, and everyone is going to eat it." And guess what? They did!

I made my delicious Black Bean Burgers, and they were a huge success. My husband and I ate them sans bun with a little salsa and guacamole, and I turned them into "cheeseburgers" for the kids. Miss Picky was skeptical after a few bites and feigned a tummy ache, but I was able to bribe her with a frozen yogurt. This went over so well that the next day she requested to try couscous - and liked it! Then the planets must have shifted because when my parents took us out to dinner last night, she refused a piece of salami in the antipasto salad... But we focus on the positive around here!

On a side note, Buddy's Pizza now has a multigrain crust that is just as great as the original, AND you can order lactose-free veggie cheese! Choirs of angels started singing when I opened my menu. Yum...

I digress again! Here is my original recipe for At-Home Vegan's Spicy Black Bean Burgers. I don't measure much when I cook, so all measurements are guesstimations.

1 sweet onion, finely chopped
A couple cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped (I like baby bellas)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp chili powder, or to taste
1 Tbsp cumin, or to taste
A few shakes hot sauce, to taste
1+ cups oats

1. Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper and mushroom until soft
2. Meanwhile, coursely mash black beans
3. Add spices and hot sauce, to taste
4. When veggies have finished cooking, combine with black beans
5. Mix in oats until desired texture
6. Form into balls and flatten slightly
7. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and refridgerate (up to one week) until ready to cook

This makes up to 12 small burgers

To cook:
Spray a pan with cooking spray and heat on medium-high
Cook until a blackened crust begins to form, about 3-5 minutes per side
Serve hot with desired toppings

Notes about bean burgers:

• This recipe makes a great dip! Omit the oats.
• You don't need oil or water to saute the veggies - they naturally sweat while they cook.
• I use Quaker Multi Grain Hot Cereal, which is a blend of rye, barley, oats, and wheat.
• These taste best when allowed to sit a few hours or overnight so the flavors can meld and the oats can suck up some of the moisture.
• If you're hoping for a hamburger-ish substitute, keep looking. These are definitely "veggie" burgers with their own unique and crumbly properties. A lot of bean burger recipes will use eggs as a binding agent, which makes them closer in texture to "real" burgers.
• That being said, you can dress them up like burgers and no one will be able to tell the difference until they bite into the yumminess.

Happy, healthy eating!