Vegetable Risotto

A brown rice dish chocked full of veggies.  

Sounds like a healthy dinner to me!  We greatly enjoyed this recipe; using brown rice in place of the traditional Arborio rice used in risotto {because, hey, that's all we had in the pantry}.  

When we make it again, I'll either (a) increase the liquids and cooking time, (b) use Minute brown rice {as I do in my other risotto recipe}, or (c) actually use the recommended Arborio rice.  These simple changes will help to make sure that the rice is gooey and not still crunchy.     

Vegetable Risotto - Inspired by Pioneer Woman

6 C chicken broth*
1 C water*
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 C chopped carrots
1 C chopped broccoli
1 C chopped cauliflower
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 T minced onion flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C brown rice {Minute or Arborio Rice recommended}
1/2 C dry white cooking wine
1 C frozen peas
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
Sea salt, to taste


Begin by melting the butter in a large skillet. Add olive oil.

Add in the chopped carrots and cook about 5 minutes.

Add to the mix all the other yummy chopped veggies. I chopped these all in my food processor.

Cook for about 5 minutes, until zucchini is crisp-tender. Then, set the veggies aside {cover them to keep warm}.

In the same skillet, add in the risotto.

I used brown rice because that's what we had... and you can use it too, just know the cooking time is much longer than with risotto. *If you use risotto, use 5 C broth. If brown rice, up that to 6 C chicken broth + 1 C water.

Add in the white wine and cook rice over med-low heat until the wine is absorbed.

Meanwhile, bring the broth and water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Using a ladle, add in hot broth to the rice in the skillet and cook until almost all the liquid is absorbed... then add in about 1 more cup of broth.

This is a time consuming process -- taking about 1 hour to fully cook with brown rice -- but it's well worth it. If you wish, speed up the process by using mintue brown rice.

When the rice is just about done, add the veggies back into the pan.
Add in the peas, cooking until warmed throughout.

Mmmm.

Sprinkle on and stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Allow the heat from the dish to melt the cheese. Trust me, it's better that way.

Season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm.

We enjoyed this as a stand-alone dish, but it would accompany grilled chicken wonderfully too.

Ham and Broccoli Pockets

Ever since we had success with our pizza pockets, my mind has been swirling.  Breakfast pockets.  And, now -- ham and cheese pockets.

Whole wheat dough, a filling made with ham and green veggies, and a sauce with great flavor from extra sharp cheddar cheese made creamy from flour and milk!  

The original recipes uses a filling that combines mild cheddar cheese and butter.  I've found that you can eliminate the butter and still get a nice thick sauce.  And, if you use extra sharp cheddar cheese, the flavor is much greater and therefore you can use less cheese.  Just a little healthier... but every little bit helps, right?

Ham and Broccoli Pockets - Inspired by Good Life Eats
Makes 8-10 pockets

Dough
1 C really warm water
1 tsp. honey
1 T yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C white whole wheat flour

Filling
1 1/2 C diced ham
1 1/2 C broccoli florets, chopped
1 C peas
4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 C milk*
1/8 C chicken broth
3 T flour
1/4 tsp. pepper


Prepare dough by dissolving the yeast in the warm water.  Allow this mixture to sit for ~1 minute.  Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.  Using your mixer, mix in the flour.  Knead about 5 minutes until smooth.  Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the filling ingredients. 

Place the frozen veggies (or fresh -- I ended up using frozen) in a large bowl.  

Add the diced ham.  

Saute the veggies and ham together until warmed.  Then, set aside.  

Combine the chicken broth and flour in a measuring up.  Stir until flour and broth are smoothly mixed together.  

Add the broth and flour mixture to a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring until mixture just begins to thicken.  Then, add in the milk.  Season with pepper.  

Stir until mixture thickens.  Then, remove from the heat.  Add in the cheese.  

As the heat from the dish melts the cheese, you may need to add a bit more milk to increase the liquid nature of the sauce.  I ended up adding between 1/8-1/4 C.  

At this point, divide the dough into 8-10 pieces, and roll/press each out into a circle.  

Place ~1- 1 1/2 C filling on half of the dough circle.  

Using a pastry brush, lightly wet the outer edge of the dough.  Then fold the dough over the filling and use a fork to seal.  

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 for 10-12 minutes until pockets are lightly browned.  

Cool for 3-4 minutes before cutting and serving.  Filling will be hot!  

Linked to: Ingredient Spotlight, What's on Your Plate? Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mangia Monday, Hunk of Meat Monday  

Breakfast Pockets

Frog Prince and I have been on a quest to have breakfasts that are not pancakes/waffles/muffins at least one morning each week.  

This recipe is a hybrid -- it brings together our beloved carbs, and mixes it with yummy veggies, scrambled eggs, and of course, a little cheese.  

We made a big batch of these up over the weekend, and unlike my pizza pockets, these actually made it into the freezer!  So, we have a quick breakfast pocket in the freezer just waiting for growling tummies in the morning.

Breakfast Pockets

{makes ~10 pockets}

Dough

1 C really warm water

1 tsp. honey

1 T yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 T olive oil

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 C white whole wheat flour

Filling

~1 C shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz. mushrooms

1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 C broccoli, chopped

4 eggs

1/4 C milk

salt and pepper, as desired

4-6 slices of bacon, cooked 

Begin by preparing the dough.  Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in the bottom of a large bowl (or mixing bowl if you are using your stand mixer).  Allow the yeast and water to sit for about 1 minute.  Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.  Stir in the flour.  You can either do this by hand, or with your mixer.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until smooth.  Allow the dough to sit, covered for 5 minutes while you prepare your filling.  

Add the sliced veggies to a skillet with a few drops of olive oil.  Saute the veggies until crisp tender.  

While the veggies are cooking, whisk together the 4 eggs and the 1/4 C milk.  Scramble the eggs in a lightly greased skillet until eggs are set.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  

Combine the veggie mixture together with the eggs.  Then, crumble up the cooked bacon strips and mix them into the egg veggie filling.  

Now, divide the dough into 10 small balls.  Flatten and roll out those dough balls into dough circles.  Place the dough circles on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Now is also the time to preheat the oven to 400.  

Divide the topping mixture into proportions equal to the number of pockets you have to fill.  For us, that equated to about 1/2-3/4 C mixture per pocket.  Place the filling on half of the dough pocket.  

Sprinkle each pocket with shredded cheddar cheese.  

Using a pastry brush, spread water around the edges of the dough.  

Fold the dough over the filling and press to seal.  Use a fork to seal the edges tightly.  

If desired, sprinkle the top of the pockets with Italian seasoning, or chives.  

Bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes until pockets are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped.  

Serve warm.  

If desired, cool the pockets completely.  Then, freeze in plastic freezer bags.  To cook, remove the breakfast pocket from the freezer and microwave for 1-3 minutes (depending on your microwave) until warmed.  

Linked to: What's Cooking Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Recipe Swap, Mangia Monday, Tasty Tuesday, These Chicks Cook

Broccoli & Black Bean Rice

The past few weeks I've been itching for something new for lunch.  First, I tried out a yummy roasted veggie spread.  Last week, I tried a delicious black bean and broccoli rice.

This was a perfect lunch topped with a little cheese.  Because, hey - when you're eating whole grains, vitamin-packed green veggies, a delicious black legumes, a little protein and lactose is good for me.  It's got calcium, right?

I also greatly enjoyed it tucked inside a nice whole wheat tortilla.

If you're looking for a change up -- a little spring cleaning of your lunches -- I invite you to give this dish a try. I modified the recipe to use Minute Brown Rice, and therefore the whole recipe went together in less than 10 minutes.

Broccoli and Black Bean Rice - Adapted from Beloved Green

2 C chicken broth
1 C brown rice {I used minute}
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 C black beans
1 (16oz) bag of frozen broccoli

Begin by cooking the brown rice in the chicken stock.  Add in the thyme and a dash of pepper, if you wish.

Meanwhile, steam the frozen broccoli until tender.  (If you use regular rice and have a rice cooker with a steamer, steam the broccoli while the rice is cooking!)

Stir the broccoli and black beans together.

When the rice is done, stir this in with the broccoli and beans; sprinkle with seasoned salt.

Mix well.

Serve warm; or chill and serve chilled later.

Enjoy!




Linked to: What's on Your Plate? Ingredient Spotlight, Your Recipe, My Kitchen.