Lemon Chicken Soup & Pea Pesto Crostini

Every once in a while I will watch a cooking show and one of my children with beg me to make the dishes that are being showcased. Or, one of them will say, "I bet you can't make that!"

I don't remember if this meal fell into either of those categories, but I do remember seeing this meal being made and really wanting to try the cake that went along with it. I didn't end up making the cake (mostly because we don't eat dessert every day, so I don't let myself bake everyday), but the rest of the meal came together quickly. I used some chicken that I had poached myself a few days earlier and also used celery and peas, since I was out of carrots. I used whole wheat thin spaghetti for the noodles and my kids really liked this dinner. Nothing too spectacular, but an easy, quick meal that was simple enough to prepare using things that I had on hand.

Here is the recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti
* I kinda did my own thing with this recipe just because it was so basic I didn't really feel like I needed directions
* I used celery and peas instead of carrots (simply because I ran out of carrots)
* I used poached chicken that I had cooked myself

Here is the recipe for Pea Pesto Crostini
* I used a little less olive oil than called for

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club- New Year, New Food

For this month's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club, I was given the opportunity to pick the theme. I love trying new foods, so I thought that a great theme for the beginning of a new year would be- New Year, New Food.

Each member of our Supper Club chose a CL recipe that included an ingredient/food that they had never tried before. I was thinking about what food I wanted to try and noticed that there were fresh chestnuts available at my grocery store. I have absolutely no idea what chestnuts are used for and I had never tried them. My only reference for this food was the line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire", from The Christmas Song.

I wasn't sure if they were really an actual nut, or just happened to have "nut" at the end of their name. (turns out they are an actual nut)
Then I was browsing around the Trader Joe's that just opened recently in my area and saw a package of chestnuts that were already peeled and cooked. The recipe I picked- Farro Minestrone with Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Chestnuts called for bottled chestnuts and I figured this find at TJ's was as close as I was going to get to the product I needed.
I also have never tried Farro, but I couldn't find it anywhere, so I used barley instead.

This minestrone was absolutely amazing. The chestnuts were a great addition to this soup. They have a really interesting flavor and texture that blended in with the other flavors magically.
I know the ingredients sounds kind of strange, but I was blown away by how well all the different ingredients went together. I think the pancetta really added a great deal of flavor to the base of the soup. (Thank you Trader Joe's for carrying chopped pancetta, that is ready to use!).

I didn't want the tomatoes to be cooked, so I just stirred them into our individual bowls, leaving them out of certain family member's, who think that tomatoes are deadly.

I was really impressed with this soup. It was so flavorful, so healthy and so delicious.

Here are the new foods that the other members of our Supper Club tried for the first time this month. Jamie tried a recipe using fontina cheese, Sandi picked a roesti casserole (I've had my eye on that dish for awhile now), Val chose quinoa, and Helene wanted to make a flan for the first time- she was unable to participate this month, but we am still including the link to the recipe she was going to try.

Here is how the menu turned out-

Mary Ann -Farro Minestrone with Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, and Chestnuts

Jamie - Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread

Sandi - Roesti Casserole with Baked Eggs

Val - Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spinach

Helene - Vanilla Caramel Flan

I hope this has inspired you to try some new ingredients or foods this year. I certainly will be!

Recipe for Farro Minestrone with Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Chestnuts
* I used quick cooking barley instead of farro
* I subbed chicken broth for the wine
* I stirred the cherry tomatoes in at the end, after the minestrone was off the heat

Chicken with Arugula Pesto

Do you love arugula?
I do.
It is a delicate little green that has a big bite. It is often described as "peppery" and as having a "strong" flavor.
It definitely has some taste to it and I think it is wonderful.

I love using arugula in salads, on sandwiches, pizza, basically anywhere you would use spinach.
I had a couple cups left in my fridge a couple of weeks ago and decided I wanted to make pesto with it.
I found this recipe for Chicken with Arugula Pesto on epicurious.com and thought chicken would be great with the pesto.
Some of the recipe reviews said that they subbed in a cup or so of spinach in the pesto to tone down the arugula and I am sure that was a tasty substitution.

The leftover pesto is great spread on sandwiches, wraps, as a base sauce for pizza or even with pasta.

The recipe called for poached chicken, but seared both sides of my chicken before I added the broth to the pan, so that the chicken would have a better texture on the exterior.
I should have sliced the chicken for the picture, it would have looked better, but thought of that after the fact. Oh well! It was yummy!

Recipe for Chicken with Arugula Pesto

Broiled Salmon with Peppercorn Lime Rub and Quinoa Vegetable Salad

It seems like it will never stop raining around here. I am not going to complain about the weather, but somehow it really affects my mood more than I would like it too.
When I wake up to gray skies and rainfall, I want to snuggle back into my covers and stay there for the entire day. At this point in my life, staying in bed all day is not an option.

That little blurb has absolutely nothing to do with this salmon- I just had to share.

I can't remember exactly where I saw this recipe, I think it was in a Cooking Light magazine or cookbook or something. The combination of the pepper and lime sounded really good to me and I liked the fact that the side dish was a quinoa-veggie combination.
This quick rub comes together is seconds and it is a simple flavor combination. Sometimes those simple things have the best results.

I am lucky because my kids really love to eat fish. I have been trying to serve it at least twice a week and it is really helpful that I don't get any complaints when I serve fish for dinner.
This was a really great, quick dinner.
My family loves quinoa too, so there were no fights about that either.
I love having sucessful dinner experiences.



For Quinoa-Vegetable Salad- combine 1 1/4 cups chicken broth and 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring mixture to a boil.
Cover and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini and 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper. (I also added 1 cup sliced mushrooms).
Cover and cook 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat.
Stir in 2 Tbls chopped fresh chives, 2 tsps olive oil, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.

Recipe for Broiled Salmon with Peppercorn Lime Rub

Butternut Squash Soup

or maybe it should be called Butternut Squash Puree. I don't know exactly.
Did you hear about the hugest butternut squash ever?
Well, if you didn't, I will just tell you that this soup/puree is the last food item that I made with my gigantic squash.
I cut my squash into cubes and roasted it in the oven with a chopped onion, fresh chopped thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Of course, it was tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
I roasted it for about 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees and when the squash was tender, I put the oven roasted mixture in the food processor.

I added some chicken broth, just to thin it out a little bit and, there you go- soup or puree or whatever you want to call it.
Healthier than some recipes because it doesn't contain any cream or half and half and so easy.

So if you happen to have a butternut squash on your hands and have no idea what to do with it, roast it in the oven. There are so many possibilities once you have all those tender little cubes of roasted squash!

2 Thanksgiving Stuffings/Dressings- Butternut Squash & Cheese Panade and Savory Butternut Squash Dressing

When I was narrowing down all the recipes I wanted to try out before Thanksgiving, I saw these two different takes on stuffing/dressing that both contain butternut squash. I love butternut squash. I think it has the perfect texture and flavor and could turn a squash-hater into a squash lover.
The first recipe is called Butternut Squash and Cheese Panade. (What is panade? Check out this link or this one for more info) I used a multigrain sourdough bread to make my bread crumbs and made enough for the other recipe that I was going to make later. I also roasted a lot of butternut squash and onions with the herbs, so I would have enough for the other stuffing.
This panade is super simple. You layer your bread cubes, butternut squash/onion/herb mixture and cheese. (I used swiss.) Then you pour in the chicken broth, which is soaked up by the bread and bake it until it is golden and the bread is puffed.
I thought this was really good. Very tasty combination of flavors.
The second stuffing/dressing was Savory Butternut Squash Dressing. I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.
I changed a lot of things about this recipe, mainly because I already had my butternut squash roasted. I also had cooked quinoa in my fridge so I decided to use that instead of the wild rice called for. I also left out the dried cranberries.
I sauteed my onion, celery and fresh cranberries in a little bit of oil and then mixed up the egg mixture. I threw in some cooked quinoa and my toasted bread cubes and then put it in the oven to bake. I liked this recipe better, but I think it is because it had more of the traditional "stuffing" texture that I am used to. I really didn't follow the recipe that closely though. I kind of did my own thing.

I really like how both of these recipes incorporate butternut squash into the stuffings/dressings. I am all about having more nutrition and vegetables at Thanksgiving, so however I can get them in, I will try it. Do you have a favorite stuffing/dressing?

Recipe for Savory Butternut Squash Dressing

Recipe for Butternut Squash and Cheese Panade

CEiMB-(rewind) Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Tuscan Vegetable Soup is not this week's recipe for Craving Ellie in my Belly. This week I was supposed to make Linguini with Shrimp.
Well, sometimes it just doesn't happen.
I didn't get to this soup in the middle of October for some reason, but saw that everyone was completely raving about it.
I decided to go back and make it, because it looked really easy, delicious and was getting rave reviews from everyone. It was chosen by Pam over at Lobster and Fishsticks, find her post about it here.

I made it when my mom was here visiting and it came together in a flash. We had been out at the park and got back home really close to dinner time. I couldn't believe how quickly this soup came together. It really is a simple soup, but it was really full of flavor and vegetables. My mom really liked it and so did the kids.

So, since it is soup weather right now, I encourage you to make this soup.

If you are feeling like shrimp is a better option, then go check out the CEiMB Blogroll to see what everyone thought about the linguini.

Recipe for Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Risotto with Swiss Chard

Risotto- I love you. I love you plain, with veggies, different grains, whatever it is, I love you.
Thanks for being you.

There are so many beautiful blogs out there. So, so many. One that always has beautiful pictures and great commentary is The Way the Cookie Crumbles. When I saw Bridget's post- Risotto with Swiss Chard, I knew I would be making it.
I decided to put it on the menu when my mom was here visiting.
The swiss chard I found was red swiss chard and since I love the stems and all, I just washed it, chopped it, and added all the parts.
Delicious. I knew it would be. I had absolutely no doubts.
The day I ended up making this was a cold, rainy day and it was the perfect dinner. Perfect.

If you have never tried making risotto at home, you really should. It is so easy and worth it. One of my favorite things to make.

The only thing I changed is using more chicken broth instead of wine and I didn't warm my broth ahead of time. I tried a recipe for risotto once that didn't have you heat the broth and it turned out just as good as those that did, so I eliminated that step.
Yum.
My hubby requested that the leftovers be packed in his lunch the next day. If you know anything about him, that is really saying something.


Recipe for Risotto with Swiss Chard

Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Parmesan

For some reason it just felt wrong to make risotto over the summer.
Too hot + lots of stirring (you don't really have to stir constantly) = too much time inside by the stove.

I found this risotto recipe over the summer when I was flipping through some of my mother-in-law's old magazines.
As soon as we had a cooler day, this risotto found itself on the menu.

The thing I love most about risotto is that you can use almost any grain you want. You don't have to use rice. This makes risotto seem a little bit healthier to me, when you can use a whole grain. And I love risotto because it is delicious, obviously.

I have made risotto with barley before, well actually twice- Barley Risotto with Kale and a Three Grain Risotto- which combines arborio rice, instant barley, and quinoa and coincidentally, has asparagus to go along with it.

This was fabulous. My husband asked me if I had taken a picture of it when he was sitting at the table eating. I asked him why he was so worried about it and he said "this is good!"

So, there you have it. The man who loves McDonalds with a passion, loves barley risotto too.

*notes- whenever a risotto recipe calls for wine, I just sub an equal amount of chicken broth for the wine.
I used instant barley for this risotto.

Recipe for Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Parmesan

One Year Ago-Nectarine and Peach Dimply Cake

Giada's Mini Chicken (Turkey) Meatballs

These are the little meatballs I used to bribe my family a couple of weeks ago.

I saw them this summer in Redbook Magazine, when Giada De Laurentiis was featured and she shared some of her favorite recipes. I ripped out the page and put it in my 3-ring binder and tried to work it into our menu.

I decided to serve these alongside the Farmland Vegetable Pie, to round out the meal.
The kids used toothpicks to eat these and they were really flavorful.
I don't usually measure the ingredients that accurately when I make meatballs. I just throw all the ingredients in a big bowl and I can usually tell when the consistency is right.

I changed a couple of things- like I only used 1 egg instead of 2, I used 93% lean ground turkey, I used skim milk instead of whole and grated Parmesan cheese in the meatballs.

These turned out really great.
They were bite-size, which made them perfect for toothpick stabbing.

My kids really liked them and so did my hubby. I liked them too.

Giada's Mini Chicken Meatballs adapted from Redbook Magazine

1/4 cup	plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup	chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 large	egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon	skim milk
1 tablespoon	ketchup
3/4 cup	freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon	salt
3/4 teaspoon	freshly ground black pepper
1 pound	ground turkey, 93% lean
2 tablespoons	olive oil
1 1/2 cup	low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup	chopped fresh basil, for garnish (I omitted this)
1/2 cup	freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (I omitted this)

1. In a medium bowl, stir together breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, milk, ketchup, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and combine well. Use a melon baller (or a teaspoon measure) to scoop the mixture; roll the seasoned chicken into 3/4-inch mini meatballs.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs and brown the tops, about 2 minutes longer. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

One Year Ago-Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Tomato Edamame Grilled Cheese Sammies

CEiMB- Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth and Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing

This week's host for CEiMB is The Not So Skinny Kitchen. The recipe selected for our enjoyment was Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth. I have to say that I was very, very, very, excited about this recipe because I have been using red curry paste alot lately and it has become one of my favorite things. Plus, we all love fish in this house and the whole thing together just sounded superb.
Amazing!!! This recipe got the best reviews of anything I have made in weeks. I had people scraping out the pan to get every last inch of the sauce to put on the halibut. The coconut milk and chicken stock tone down the red curry paste so that even my little ones loved it. The lime juice, cilantro, and scallions that are stirred into the sauce at the end, give the sauce an extra little zing.
We loved it. Serving it with brown rice and spinach is just perfect. I will definitely make this again. I splurged and bought halibut to go with this meal and I am glad I did, but I am sure that it would taste great with any other firm white fish. Great pick.

Since I can't seem to ever get enough veggies in at one meal and we all love salad, I decided to serve the Thai Salad I saw in a recent issue of Cooking Light alongside the halibut. The peanut dressing was really thin, but the flavors were good.

This was a great, healthy meal that pleased everyone at the table.

Go see what the other Ellies' thought of this recipe by visiting the Craving Ellie Blogroll!

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth 2006, Ellie Krieger
Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste*, or 2 teaspoons curry powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used chicken stock)

1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
4 (6-ounce) pieces halibut fillet, skin removed
Steamed spinach**
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice, for serving
Directions
*Available in the Asian section of most supermarkets
**Steam or microwave 5 cups of washed baby spinach for 2 minutes

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes.
Season the halibut with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange the fish in the pan and gently shake the pan so the fish is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes.
Arrange a pile of steamed spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve with rice.

Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing from Cooking Light this only makes 2 servings, so I doubled the recipe

"These ingredients reflect the types of food my family enjoys year-round—fresh herbs and vegetables from our garden and local farmers. Sometimes we add chopped cooked chicken or my husband's fresh fish catch of the day for a main dish." —Maureen Nibecker, Honokaa, Hawaii

Dressing:

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1 tablespoon reduced-fat peanut butter

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons dry-roasted peanuts

Salad:

2 cups mixed baby salad greens

1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

2 tablespoons vertically sliced red onion (I omitted this)

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

6 baby carrots, peeled (I used matchstick carrots)

4 cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used plum tomatoes)

1. To prepare dressing, combine the first 8 ingredients in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Add peanuts; process 10 seconds.

2. To prepare salad, divide greens and remaining ingredients evenly between 2 serving plates. Drizzle each salad with 1/4 cup dressing.


Up Next- Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream

Persian Pomegranate-Walnut Chicken

This is a recipe I came across when I was trying to find something to use my POM juice in. I had 1 bottle left and I wanted to make something savory. This recipe sounded really interesting and pretty easy.
I got scared that my kids wouldn't like it because the combination of ingredients sounded a little strange. I also had a couple of visitors over for dinner, so I didn't know how it was going to go.
The sauce smelled amazing to me, but I didn't know if everyone else would like the cinnamon and other things going on in this dish.
Ok- here is the best part.
Everyone LOVED it!
And I don't just mean they thought it was good or ok or whatever.
My kids, my guests, my family- they all thought it was the best chicken dish we had ever had.
And we have had some really delicious chicken.
I didn't have to bribe anyone to eat it. I even had a couple of people who wanted to lick out the remaining sauce that was in the electric skillet. Kinda embarrassing, but I think someone did get a piece of bread and ate every last smidgen of the sauce.
I made a really delicious Muhammara Dip with this too and I will be posting that in a couple days.
The feedback I got from this dinner was awesome. I love it when that happens.

Persian Pomegranate-Walnut Chicken from Cooking Light
Based on the Persian dish fesenjan, this streamlined entrée features a sweet-tart sauce of pomegranate juice thickened with ground walnuts.
After toasting, cool the nuts completely before grinding.

1 cup walnuts, toasted
8 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I used chicken stock)
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed (I omitted this because I didn't have any)
Dash of ground cinnamon
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

1. Place walnuts in a food processor; process until finely ground. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add half of chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.

3. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, ground walnuts, broth, and the remaining ingredients except cilantro, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pan; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.
Yield: 8 servings

Up Next-2 ways with Quinoa for breakfast

Hidden Rainbow Albondigas

I saw this recipe in a recent issue of Cooking Light. This was one of the category finalists for the family dinners section of their recipe contest. I have seen other recipes for Albondigas and thought that they sounded really interesting, but I really loved the amount of vegetables that were in this particular recipe. I changed a couple of things like using fresh bell peppers instead of frozen and using only chicken broth, instead of some chicken and some beef. I also just used a regular onion instead of a sweet onion becauce that is what I had on hand.
This dinner did take awhile to put together, but it got alot of raves and made such a large amount that we had 2 meals worth of leftovers. My kids loved the meatballs and even the other adults thought the soup had great flavor and wanted to eat it warmed up later.
We really liked this and I can see why it was one of the finalists in the contest.

Hidden Rainbow Albondigas adapted from Cooking Light
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bell peppers, diced (I used red and orange)
3/4 cup diced carrot
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
3 (32-ounce) cartons fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded yellow squash
1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pepper stir-fry to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chiles, and broths; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until carrot is tender.
2. Place one-third of broth mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining broth mixture. Return to pan.
3. Combine chicken, pork, squash, cilantro, 1/4 cup rice, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and egg in a food processor; process 30 seconds or until blended. Bring broth mixture to a boil. Drop meat mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls (about 45 meatballs) into broth mixture. Add remaining 1/2 cup rice to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until meatballs are done. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir in juice.

Up Next- Salad with Pomegranate-Lime Dressing

Three-Grain Risotto with Asparagus Spears

Okay- I confess. I am obsessed with risotto. You probably already know this if you ever look at my blog. I have tried it with all types of grains, vegetables, seasonings, spices and everytime I love it.
This Cooking Light recipe uses arborio rice, quinoa, and instant barley. A nice combination of grains. I love all of those grains and I was excited to see how a combination of the three would turn out.
I also really like asparagus, as do my kids and it was perfect with this risotto.
This recipe was a little bit creamier than some of the others that I have tried-I think because of the milk and cheese that is added near the end, but the extra creaminess was very delicious.
I ordered risotto at a restaurant recently and was very disappointed by the taste. It was practically soup. Does anyone have any recommendations of a good place to order risotto? Even if you do, I will probably just keep making it at home. I tend to think you can make almost anything at home that will be just as good or better than eating out. But that is just me.

Three-Grain Risotto with Asparagus Spears from Cooking Light

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed (I omitted this)

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2 medium)

1/2 cup uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice

1/2 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup dry white wine ( I used chicken broth)

1 cup water

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

2/3 cup 1% low-fat milk

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 asparagus spears, steamed

1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted

Bring saffron and broth to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil).

Keep warm over low heat.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add rice, barley, and quinoa; sauté 2 minutes.

Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed. Stir in 1 cup water; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly.

Add broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total).
Remove from heat; stir in cheese and next 4 ingredients (cheese through pepper). Top with asparagus spears, and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Up Next- Craving Ellie- Salmon and Lentils and Barefoot Bloggers- Chinese Chicken Salad