Mushroom-Asparagus Risotto

2 Tbs olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook 5 minutes more, or until mushrooms are browned and their juice has evaporated. Stir in rice, salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute.
2) Add 1 cup stock to saucepan, and cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes, or until it's mostly absorbed. Stir in another cup stock, and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until liquid is absorbed. Repeat until you have 1/2 cup stock left. Add asparagus and last 1/2 cup stock; cook 4 minutes more, or until stock is absorbed and asparagus is tender. Fold in cheese. Serve immediately.

Review: Ug, I hate making risotto. It's a yummy, creamy dish, but I hate stirring for a half hour. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to make this. It's yummy, but a pain.

Deluxe Artichoke Dip

1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup mayo
8oz sour cream
1 can (14oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 jar (12oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 Tbs olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) In small bowl, combine bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of cheese and parsley, set aside.
3) In medium bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, remaining 3/4 cup cheese, artichoke mixture, top with bread crumb mixture, then drizzle with olive oil.
4) Bake uncovered 35 minutes or until heated through. Serve with your favorite dippers.

Review: I totally made this dip for a party tonight. Everyone LOVED it!!! It was such a hit. And I didn't use fresh parsley, I used dried, probably about 1/8 cup. It was rich, moist and YUMMY. We served it with flour tortilla chips (Tostitos), which are a fave of mine to serve with dip. I highly recommend this and it's going into my "party cookbook" of recipes to take to social outings. I have 3 cookbooks, 1 for meals, 1 for desserts and 1 for social events. Because often, it's a chore to flip through recipes trying to find something good to take to a party.

Pine Nut Couscous With Feta

1 (5.6 oz) box uncooked couscous (toasted pine nut flavor or original)
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 cup boiling water
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4 oz) package crumbled feta cheese
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1) Cook couscous according to package directions. Keep warm.
2) Meanwhile, combine broccoli, water and garbanzo beans in 2-quart saucepan. Cover; cook over medium heat until heated through (4 to 5 minutes). Drain.
3) Combine cooked couscous, broccoli mixture and cheese in large bowl; toss gently. Garnish with cherry tomatoes.

Review: I used the toasted pine nut flavor couscous and omitted the cherry tomatoes (I seem to have developed an allergy). It didn't have enough flavor for me. I'd suggest adding some garlic or something, but I'm not sure what. Adding tomatoes would have given it more flavor, I'm sure.

Linguine Al Pesto

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
6 to 8 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 medium potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold
1 lb green beans, trimmed
1 lb linguine

1) Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil.
2) Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine the pesto ingredients and puree until you have a rough paste, scraping down the sides as necessary. You will have about 1 cup.
3) Peel the potatoes. Cut them lengthwise into quarters and then crosswise into 1/4-inch slices to make about 2 cups. Cut the green beans into 2-inch lengths to make about 4 cups.
4) When the water is boiling vigorously, add the potatoes and then the pasta. Stir well and cover. After 2 minutes, add the green beans, stir and cover. When the pasta is al dente, about 5 minutes, drain. Test the pasta frequently to avoid overcooking.
5) In a large serving bowl, toss together the pasta and vegetables and the pesto sauce. Serve immediately.

Review: I love pesto anything. Enough said. :)

I made this again on 3/30/2011.  However, I used packaged pesto from Costco (pretty decent pesto, better than other brands we've tried) and haricot verts.  Yum!

Vegetable Hot Pot

2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 leek, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
2 small turnips, diced
1 Tbs flour
3 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbs ground sage
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

1) Cook the potato slices in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and reserve.
2) Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the leek and garlic, and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for a further 3-4 minutes.
3) Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the stock, and bring to a boil. Add the sage, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and season well. Remove from the heat and transfer the vegetables to a 9x13 casserole dish.
4) Arrange the potato slices on top of the vegetable mixture to cover.
5) Sprinkle the cheese on top of the potato slices and cook in a preheated oven at 375F, for 30-35 minutes or until the potato is golden brown and beginning to crispen around the edges. Serve immediately.

Review: This is a tweaked recipe. The original called for one apple and 2/3 cup of dry cider. After hunting through a couple of grocery stores, a liquor store and a convenience store, still without finding dry cider, I decided to omit the apple flavors. They seemed kind of weird in it, anyway. So, this came out to be a great dish, although it seemed like a potato topped stew, even after I omitted 2/3 cup of dry cider! I'd probably omit a cup of broth, in order to make it more like a casserole. This was a great dish, though. It had a nice fall, harvest flavor, which was perfect for our cold, rainy evening tonight!!

Lasagna With Zucchini & Walnuts

2 medium zucchini
4 tsp olive oil
2 large carrots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups marinara sauce
1 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 no-boil lasagna noodles (depending on size, enough for three layers)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1) Trim ends from zucchini. Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/8 inch slices. Place in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet; brush with 1 tsp of olive oil. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender, turning once. Let zucchini cool before handling.
2) In a large saucepan, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until tender. Add marinara sauce, basil and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, toss together the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Reserve one-third of cheese for top; set cheese aside.
3) Grease a 2-quart square baking dish; arrange two noodles in the dish. Spread with one-third of the sauce. Sprinkle with one-third of the nuts. Top with one-third of the zucchini; sprinkle with one-third of the cheese mixture. Repeat layering, alternating strips of zucchini lengthwise and crosswise in each layer and ending with the zucchini.
4) Bake, covered, in a 375F oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes more or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. If desired, sprinkle with additional chopped walnuts.

Review: If you're not in the habit of eating with a knife, I'd suggest slicing the zucchini in thin circles, or shredding it. I almost never eat with a knife (not really needed as a vegetarian). When eating this, I'd pick up a piece with a huge slice of zucchini hanging off the side. Not fun. Other than that, this was a very yummy dish. The walnuts were a nice addition. We'll definitely have it again.

I made this again on 11/21/2010, but used zucchini rounds as my last entry suggested.  Oh, it was much easier to eat and super yummy!!

Potato Medley

5 large russet potatoes, cubed (mine were Idaho potatoes!)
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 Tbs canola oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

1) In a large pot, boil the potatoes in enough water to cover for 8 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 4 or 5 minutes more; drain.
2) Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the potatoes, broccoli and the remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring, until the potatoes become slightly creamy and the ingredients are heated through, about 7 minutes. Serve hot.

Review: This was yummy, except I added too much cayenne after tasting it to find it was bland. Now, it's super spicy. I like it, though. Mike wasn't too happy with the spice factor, though. I'll have to cut back next time!!