THIS is what's for dinner

THIS is what we had for dinner tonight:
Chicken and Mushroom Risotto w/Garlic Bread

I adapted my recipe from here, but this is what I did:

1 T butter
3 T olive oil
1/4 c red onion, slivered/chopped
2 Portabella mushroom caps, thickly sliced/chopped
1-2 c cooked chicken
1 t dry basil
1 c rice (I used Japanese)
2/3 c white wine (I used some old Riesling)
3 c chicken stock (mine is homemade with lots of Paprika)
chopped cashews
lemon zest
cream
cheese (I used Italian 5 blend)



1. Warm chicken stock
2. Heat butter and oil over medium heat, add onions, cook till soft
3. Add mushrooms and basil, cook till soft
4. Turn heat up a little bit and add rice. Cook and stir for 3 minutes
5. Add chicken, cook and stir for another 2 minutes (or so)
6. Add wine and cook until it is evaporated
7. Add 1/2 c chicken stock. Cook and stir till almost evaporated, about 3 minutes
8. Repeat addition of chicken stock. Stir frequently.
9. Taste test the rice after adding 2 cups of stock to see if its almost done -- only add as much as you need, do not overcook
10. Remove from heat. Stir in cream (maybe 1-2 T), lemon zest and cashews.
11. Salt and pepper to taste
12. ENJOY

As with all cooking -- use what you have on hand. Would Arborio rice be better for a risotto? Would parmigiano reggiano be a better choice for the cheese? Would dry white wine be better than my riesling? Maybe -- but let me tell you this was amazing. Use what you have, stir this alot, and make sure you have nothing else going on (no TV) while you eat this....feast and enjoy!

Things to Do

I have been wishing and thinking and concocting for a few weeks...it's been a long time since I've really spent time thinking of how things could be, if things were done differently. I know this sounds ambiguous, so forgive me for being proud of myself for letting go a little bit and wondering about changes that can be made. :) Dave and I have settled into a mode of accepting things as they are (modest finances), and yet, over the past couple of weeks we have been just talking about what we would do if we had a little bit of money to work with. The truth is that we could afford a small amount in the budget to revamp a few things around the house that we would both benefit from. We have a beautiful house, that we are nothing but thrilled about daily, but there are things that we would prefer to be a bit different.

Now, all that to say that God Almighty Himself has very clearly told me to finish the small projects that I've either started or bought supplies to start. So, this is the small list of things that we (really just I) need to do around the house before we can tackle anything else:

• refinish wooden desk (purchased for $20 in May and still sitting on the back porch)
• rescreen the side door (this is def a Dave job)
• paint one of the spare rooms or bathroom (with paint received as payment for restaining a friend's floor)
• transfer dry goods (rice, pasta, beans) into the 3 dozen mason jars that I got for free off of Freecycle back in April
• list/sell the random stuff I've been accumulating since we got married, on Craigslist

I do have to admit that I did buy chalkboard vinyl today to make labels for my mason jar goods. Click here for an example. I just thought those labels were way too cute. I may have a large amount of the chalkboard vinyl leftover, so I will probably intend to resell it on Etsy or Ebay. We'll see.

So, over the next month or so, look for pictures and updates with these little projects. I want to finish them to work on the issue of 'doing what I've said I will do' and then free up mental space to move onto other things to turn them into reality rather than just wishing and wondering time away.

Meal Planning Monday (on a Tuesday)

Let me just say that we are no longer participating in the All You Grocery Challenge. I've been pretty bummed about not doing it, but have been learning some timely lessons, which makes it worthwhile. (at least that's where I keep redirecting my attitude)



I am still trying to keep up with my meal planning though, because that is the true key to my food budgets. So, for this week we are eating:



Monday: Grilled Chicken, Homemade Flatbread (with red onions, green olives and aged white Australian cheese), Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans, Cucumber/Sour Cream sidedish, and Salad -- I was REALLY in the mood for a summer feast, but went WAY overboard, so we invited friends over :)

Tuesday: Leftovers from my compulsive Monday cooking

Wednesday: Oven-Fried Eggplant & Salad (hopefully Dave will look past the vegetarianism of this meal)

Thursday: Grab-n-Go Food -- Probably a mish mash of leftovers, cereal, and/or wontons -- We are planning to clean the church that day, so we just have to eat something quick and go

Friday: Burgers? Maybe these burgers :)

Saturday: Shepherds Pie


What are you eating?