Italian Risotto

Italian Risotto
Originally found at Food.com

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
5 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced

Cut everything before you start, as with this protocol, you won't be able to chop while the rice is cooking.

In a small saucepan, bring broth to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm. In a separate saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add rice; cook two minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine and cook 1 minute, or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium.

Add 1 cup of broth to rice; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, allowing each portion to be absorbed before adding the next portion. Stir in half-and-half, salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, basil, and cheese.

My Notes:
Since this was my first time with this recipe, I didn't play around with it much, especially to figure out how to make it without stirring so constantly. I thought it was okay, and I brought it to a potluck and everyone really liked it, so into the recipe book it goes.

And yes, I know it's another dairy recipe. I'm trying, but it's really hard to get meat recipes when I'm the only one in my house who will eat it. I'm working on it. And I've got a pareve recipe in the works now.

Buffalo Sweet Potato Fries

Yes, that is my anatomy book. What of it?

Buafflo Sweet Potato Fries
Originally found at Food.com

2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
2 Tbsp oil

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise into whatever size fry you like. Place them into a plastic bag and drizzle with oil. Shake to coat well. In a small dish, combine spices. Pour spice mixture over the potatoes, and shake well to coat.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until tender. Serve.

My Notes:
Okay, a bit of back story on this one. November was my first time eating a sweet potato, when I went to my dad's house and had my stepmom's sweet potato casserole. And then in January, I had a soup that featured sweet potato, and I've been trying to hunt down a recipe for it ever since. Today was one of those crazy recipe snooping days, mostly because I'm avoiding studying. So, I sought out that soup.

I didn't find it, but in the process, I came across a recipe for spicy sweet potato fries. While I was at my Habitat for Humanity trip last month, we went to a pub and I had a craving for sweet potato fries, and got them, and have basically been craving them ever since cause they were so good. But those were definitely sweet, complete with brown sugar sprinkled on them, and I wasn't in the mood for something that sweet (I know, shocker). So I decided to make these instead.

I didn't have cayenne pepper, but my lovely roommate is Indian and has a huge thing of red chili powder, which is super spicy, so I definitely did not use as much as the recipe might've called for had I been using a more mild powder. But these were so good. I served with ranch dressing, so that made it dairy, but the fries themselves are pareve. Yay for me breaking out of my dairy confines!

Brown Bag Burritos

Brown Bag Burritos
Originally found at The Finer Things in Life

1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
2/3 cup enchilada sauce (roughly 1/2 can, more if desired)
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup cheese, shredded
20 flour tortillas (burrito-size)

Combine all ingredients (except tortillas) in a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Heat tortillas for a few seconds (10-15) in microwave, until pliable. Spoon 1/2 cup mixture down the side of each tortilla. Roll up, wrap in a paper towel, and then wrap in foil. Freeze.

When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for 1-2 minutes.

My Notes:
Couple notes here. First, I know the picture isn't all that great. But it's really hard to get a decent picture of something so white. Maybe I'll cut one and top it with salsa or something for a better presentation. Anyway...

I made these because I've been looking for things that I could freeze and bring to school with me so that I could study at school (I'm finding I tend to be a little more productive there than I am at home), or for days when there's not a free lunch that I can grab between morning and afternoon classes. These work very well. They're also really easy to make in big batches (so I can make them once a month or so and be set), and they're pretty inexpensive (and save me from spending even more by eating out).

If you wrap them in BOTH paper towels and foil before they cool, they'll continue to steam and get a nice ice crystal layer in the paper towels, which keeps them moist when they're in the microwave.

I'm going to experiment with different options; I think I'll try one with ground meat, and one with shredded chicken, just to see how it works out. I'll update with the results.

Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry Shortcakes
Originally found at Betty Crocker

1 quart (4 cups) whole strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/3 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup whipped cream

Wash and cut strawberries and place in a bowl. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar on berries and mix. Cover and set aside for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix Bisquick, milk, 3 Tbsp sugar, and butter in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Take a large spoonful (about the size of your palm), and roll in your hands to form a ball. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat for remaining dough.

Bake the shortbread for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

To serve, split the shortbread, cover with strawberries and juice, and top with whipped cream. Makes about 10.

My Notes:

Yes, I cheated. I used Bisquick. But I had bought a big box of it a few months back for some recipe, and I can't for the life of me remember what recipe I wanted to use it for. And it's kosher, so I decided to make something. Strawberries were on sale this week, so I bought some and mixed me up some strawberry shortcakes. They were delicious. Even without the strawberries. Don't ask how many I ate.

And yes, it's dairy. I know, I need to branch out. I'm working on it, I promise. More recipes to come later this week (once I get pictures :))

Southwest Layered Salad

Southwest Layered Salad
Originally found at Kraft Canada

6 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheese
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 cup broken tortilla chips

Place lettuce on plate, followed by beans, corn, salsa, cheese, ranch dressing, and chips. Serve.

My Notes:
I finally found a kosher ranch dressing. I'm so excited. When I originally started this, I was thinking that there was no way I'd find a kosher ranch dressing, since my favorite varieties (mostly Hidden Valley) weren't kosher. So, I started trying other dressings (honey mustard became my favorite). But I was randomly shopping in the store the other day and found one with an OU certification.

At any rate, this salad actually tastes really good. I was skeptical, since I'm picky with textures and salsa on lettuce without some sort of meat didn't sound that appetizing, but it was good. The crunch with the tortilla chips was key, I think. This could be adapted to be pareve or meat, but I chose to just keep it dairy. I really need to branch out more.