Peas In A Pod....Risotto

This is the very first time in my entire life that I have purchased fresh peas. In fact I am not a big fan of peas in general.  I pick them out of chicken pie, pass by as quickly as I can when I see them at the grocery store and have never ever cooked them for my family.  I don't even know if my kids like them.  So why did I feel compelled to buy them today at the farm.   I have no idea other than I loved the wicker basket they were being displayed in.. 

The first ten minutes of shelling my peas was kind of fun.  I thought, hmmm this is really relaxing, sitting on the deck with the sun shinning brightly,  my mocha ice coffee ready to quench my thirst and trusty Bella sleeping peacefully  at my feet.  When all of a sudden OUCH!!!  The you've got to be kidding me, this is taking way too long BUG  bit me big time.  Soon my relaxing afternoon on the deck just became a necessary boring chore,  but I dug in with both hands, killed the bug and finished the job.   Finding a recipe to highlight my tedious afternoon chore was a lot more enjoyable.
The risotto I made was inspired by Dom at Belleau Kitchen.  He made his version last week and it looked delicious. My version is a little different than Dom's.  Here's the recipe.

  This is just your basic risotto recipe.

• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped 
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine ( I used Pinot Grigio)
• 5 cups chicken broth 
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 1/2 cups fresh shelled peas, blanched for 2 minutes
• 1/4 cup pancetta, cooked until crisp

Preparation

1.  Fry up the pancetta  over medium heat until crisp.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Heat the butter and oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil and butter. Pour in the wine, then stir until all the liquid is absorbed. Reduce heat to low. Add 1 cup of the broth and cook until absorbed, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, waiting until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next. Continue this process until the rice is cooked al dente, about 40 minutes. Stir in the pancetta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.  Fold in the 2 cups of the peas. Garnish with chopped flat leaf Italian parsley. Serve immediately.

Fresh shelled peas have opened up my narrow taste buds to a brand new vegetable taste sensation.   The pea risotto was creamy and the tender peas, well they were sweet and delicious. Well worth the effort.     


For a chance to win a great give away please visit Bev at  Bee Haven Acres.  You won't be disappointed.

Cheesy Buns.....Yum

My good friend Marian served up these delicious buns the other night to accompany her chicken and vegetable soup.  They were so delicious that we gobbled up the warm cheesy buns in no time at all.   Marian was kind enough to share the recipe and I whipped them up tonight for supper.  Here is the recipe.  They are super easy and soooo delicious.

Cheesy Buns

1 1/4 cup Bisquick

1/2 cup Cheese ( I used a mixed cheddar blend)

1/2 cup Water

shake in a little garlic and pepper

or garlic and herb perfect pinch

drop by heaping tablespoon ( 8 to 10 biscuits)

bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes

 

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melt 1/2 stick butter and add the following

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

italian seasoning

micro for 20 secs

brush on hot biscuits

Low Fat Lemon Blueberry Muffins...

Eating healthy is a battle that one day I intend to win.  Some small changes, more movement in the exercise department and these blueberry muffins should lead me in the right direction. 
Recipe adapted from the cookbook  Eat More of What You Love by Marlene Koch.

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4  cup fresh blueberries

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup 1% milk
3 tbsp. melted butter 
1 6 oz. container low fat lemon Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice from 1 large lemon
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Stir in blueberries and mix well.
3. Whisk together the egg, yogurt,  melted butter,vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest in a mixing bowl.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Spoon into 12 muffin. cups
5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
6. Test with a skewer, if the skewer comes out clean, the muffins are done. Remove and cool on the rack.
7. These are best served warm from the oven.

White Bean and Turkey Chili...

 Not very pretty I know.  Beige meat  usually isn't.  But don't let the bland color fool you.  This low fat turkey chili is delicious.  Here's the recipe from Allrecipes.com.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 (4 ounce) cans canned green chile peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ground cayenne pepper to taste
• 3 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
• 5 cups chicken broth ( 4 cups is plenty)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese ( I use 1 cup lite Jack cheese)

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is well browned. Add the chile peppers, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper to taste and saute 5 more minutes.
2. Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

Simple Pleasures......

Fresh berries and fruit are in abundance at all the grocery stores. Just look at the size of these sweet blackberries and the gorgeous green color of my juicy kiwi.. This was my snack when I came home from work today.  So simple so delicious.  I love this time of year.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo.....

I'm celebrating Cinco de Mayo with south of the border dishes this week. Black bean and corn salad from Allrecipes.com is muy delicioso.

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 8 green onions, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1 clove minced fresh garlic 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, green onions, jalapeno peppers, bell pepper, avocado, pimentos, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and Italian dressing.  Toss, and chill until serving.

Giada Knock Off

This dessert was an unexpected success.  I was watching Giada one day and she made this delicious strawberry parfait.  Her recipe called for a cup of heavy cream, whipped,  mashed up strawberries with sugar and vanilla meringue cookies.  I loved the look of Giada's dessert, but knew whipped cream was not going to be an ingredients in my reduced calorie version.
Here is my recipe.

• 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries ( I didn't add sugar to mine)
• 6 oz. non fat vanilla bean yogurt (Trader Joe's) you can see the vanilla beans in it!
• 1 tsp.Mascarpone cheese
• 2 fat free vanilla meringue cookies

 Mix the Mascarpone into the vanilla bean yogurt, crumble one meringue cookie into the yogurt as well. Spoon half of the strawberries in a glass, top with yogurt , more strawberries  and so on.  Crumble the last cookie on top.  Soooo good!