Tag Archives: rice

Caramelized Onion Risotto

17 Sep

This is another one of my risotto recipes that starts with Archer Farms 4 cheese Risotto mix.  This is more of a sweet version of risotto, because it has caramelized onions and sweet peas.  It’s a different twist from the salty versions I usually make.

This was an experiment to use up some caramelized onions I had left in the fridge from my French Onion Soup and experiments with a French Onion Dip.

 

CARAMELIZED ONION RISOTTO

1 box of Archer Farms 4 cheese risotto mix
½ cup caramelized onions
2 oz of smoked veggie ham, cut into small pieces
3 roasted garlic cloves
2 oz of shredded gruyere cheese
1 cup of frozen sweet peas
¼ cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

 

  1. In a medium saucepan, prepare risotto mixture according to package directions.
  2. While the rice is cooking, in a separate skillet, brown the pieces of smoked veggie ham.  Set aside.
  3. When the risotto is halfway done and the rice is starting to plump we can start adding more stuff to it…  add the onions and the garlic and mix well.   Add the gruyere cheese and mix well to melt thoroughly.
  4. When the rice is about to be done, add the Parmesan cheese and the peas.   Turn the stove off and let the rice and sauce thicken with the remaining heat from the stove.
  5. After leaving the risotto stand for 15 minutes, serve sprinkling the pieces of smoked veggie ham on top. 
  6. Drizzle with a bit of good extra virgin olive oil to garnish too.

NOTE:  I added the veggie ham pieces into my rice and they went limp on me… so do as I say, not as I do and just keep them as a garnish on top.  They’ll stay crispy and you’ll enjoy them better.

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

3 Dec

This has become one of my signature dishes.  I saw a recipe in a vegetarian cooking book and, because I never follow a recipe to a “T”, over time I developed my very own version.  My sister, who is not vegetarian, called me from Indiana to ask me for the recipe once.  That’s the impression it made on her.

 This recipe works with any color of bell peppers – green, red, yellow or orange.  They all taste great.  Buy the ones cheaper at the supermarket that day.  I cut the pepper in half, so each pepper yields 2 servings.  But I guess your servings will depend on the amount of hunger and how voracious are your guests.

 This recipe makes great use of leftover rice.  It’s hard for me to give you exact measurements for ingredients, because I always make this recipe out of leftovers… and the last few times, I have done it for 30 people – so the recent amounts are not applicable for a home dinner.  So bear with me on this one… I’ll try to give you my best estimates.

 

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

3 bell peppers, washed well, cut in half lengthwise from top to bottom
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small carrots, shredded
2 tomatoes, diced or 8 oz. chopped tomatoes in glass jar (Viter or Pomi brands work well) 
1 cup of cooked whole grain rice
1/3 cup slivered almonds
4 oz cream cheese
2 oz goat cheese
2 tablespoons scallions or green onions
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or Italian cheese blend
Salt and Pepper to taste
  1. Wash peppers and cut them from top to bottom, so each pepper half has a bit of pepper stem, which looks nice as presentation.  Clean out all the seeds and white ribs inside with a pairing knife.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  3. In a saute pan over medium heat, heat a small amount of oil and saute onions for a few minutes, add garlic, add carrots.  Saute until softened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Add tomatoes. If adding fresh, saute until the tomatoes exude most of their liquid.  This will provide moisture to the mixture.
  5. Add rice to mixture. Remove from heat.
  6. Add almonds and cream and goat cheeses. Add scallions and parsley.
  7. Fill the pepper halves with the rice mixture.  Top with shredded cheese.
  8. Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, until peppers are cooked and cheese on top is golden brown.
  9. Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes.

 If you rather prepare this recipe without cheese, it tastes great just the same.  You could also use rice cream cheese and rice or soy shredded cheese for the topping.  This way you will not feel as if you’re depriving yourself of anything.

You can definitely include in the rice mixture any vegetable of your choice.  Just like this is a recipe for leftover rice, it’s also great for leftover vegetables and cheese.  I once made this with a leftover cheese dip from a party. 

This is just the starting point.  Let me know what other version you can come up with.  OK?

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Cheese Rice Burritos with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

17 Nov

This is a recipe I have been meaning to make for a loooooong time.  It is an adaptation of two different recipes from the Food Network.  I had never had tomatillos before, but I always wondered how they tasted.  I was so surprised at the amount of flavor this salsa gives to this dish.

Before you say anything else… I know I need some help with the plating and the pictures – for them to have more appetite appeal… so for this one, forgive me and just use them as an educational guide for how the dish is prepared and assembled.  OK?  The flavors are there, I promise to practice my picture-taking techniques.

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 Cheese Rice Burritos with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

6 whole-wheat flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups julienned or shredded zucchini
1 medium diced onion
1 minced clove of garlic
1 cup cooked whole-grain rice
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
olive oil
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded lettuce
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa – recipe follows
  1. Warm tortillas over a warm skillet
  2. While tortillas are warming, heat a pot with some olive oil.  Add zucchini and onion and sautee until tender.  Season with salt and pepper.
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  4. Stir in rice, cheese, and cook for 1 few minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Fill in warm tortillas with rice mixture.  Spoon a few table spoons of the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.  Top with lettuce and tomato.  Roll up the burrito and serve with additional salsa and sour cream.

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
  1. Pre-heat oven to 400degrees F.
  2.  On a baking tray, place tomatillos, onion and garlic.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes.
  3. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices from the bottom of the tray to a food processor.  Add the lemon juice and pulse the mixture until well combined, but still chunky.

As you can notice, I do not like spicy foods.  But you can add as much spice to this recipe as you’d like.  Add jalapenos to the tomatillo salsa and even mix in some chile sauce to the rice mixture… go crazy if you’d like.

I would also accompany this recipe with a nice chunky guacamole… recipe follows. 

Buen Provecho!!!!

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