Kitchen Concoctions





Time To Get Busy

Well like many food bloggers (or any bloggers for that matter), I feel like I am always so far behind with my posts. Like right now, even if I blogged every day for the rest of the month of September I still would not be caught up. And to top it off, of course I am still creating new recipes, pouring over other food blogs, reading cookbooks, trying new restaurants, etc, etc. So I guess the bottom line is I just have to do better. I mean everyone is busy especially all bloggers, but they manage to put up posts on a regular basis why can’t I? But I am going to try hard and change (key word: try). Luckily I do the cookbook of the month so that is a guaranteed recipe every week AND I have a few ideas for the upcoming months for other posts.
I hope that you all don’t think that I don’t enjoy blogging, because I do, I love blogging. But you can image the work it takes (really not complaining). But I find it really fun picking new recipes, sharing my stories (kitchen related or not), ‘attempting’ to take pictures (I honestly really try and spend time and take beautiful pictures like seen on other blogs but I don’t have a super pricey camera and they say you should use natural light to take pictures of food but since I am usually cooking at night that doesn’t help).
Anyways, I am happy to share a new recipe with you (now which one should I choose out of ALL the recipes I have made recently)……
So it is now 2 hours later since I wrote the above paragraphs. I have been sorting through all my pics and recipes to try find a recipe for this post (and try and organize them some how). To date I have 18 recipes to blog about, 4 restaurant reviews, 4 random food/blogger events, 2 specialty food product reviews, 4 cookbook of the months already picked out, and 4 ideas for future months’ posts (soon to come). I’d say I had better get on it!

So after all that I decided for today’s post I would feature a recipe I made off of Pioneer Woman’s website. If you all have never been to her website you HAVE TO! It is not only about food, but also about home and garden, homeschooling, photography, and her “Confessions”. It is a good read, and she has some pretty awesome giveaways (computers, cameras, Kitchen Aide Mixers, ect.) if you are lucky enough to be picked out of the bout 25,000 people (yes you read it right, 25,000 people) that leave comments to try and win the prizes.

This is her recipe for Red Pepper Risotto. I love risotto. It is so rich and creamy. And you can make SOOOO many different versions of it. The only downfall to risotto is how time consuming it is (allow yourself at least 25-30 minutes dedicated to just the risotto) and if you already have carpel tunnel syndrome you might not want to make it (if you don’t have it yet be prepared to get it). But if you do have help in your kitchen the constant stirring is perfect for you helper!

Red Pepper Risotto

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

8 cups chicken broth (low sodium if you’re buying it in the store)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine.
Salt to taste
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (any combination of cheeses will do)
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium pan. In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium to medium-low heat. Add diced onions and cook until translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add red peppers and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add uncooked rice and stir for a minute or two, allowing it to be coated with the other ingredients.

Pour in wine and cook for a minute or two.
Now, start adding broth a cup to a cup and a half at a time, stirring gently and allowing each addition to absorb into the rice. Repeat for 25 to 30 minutes, or until rice is al dente. (You might not need to use all the broth.)

At the end, stir in a little more liquid and turn off heat. Add cheeses and stir. Serve immediately!