New Recipe: Christine's Bacon-Cheddar Risotto

I was browsing through a magazine and a Bacon Risotto recipe caught my eye. I didn’t look at the recipe and now I can’t remember where I saw it. Since I make a mean Asparagus/Chicken Risotto, I figured I’d take a stab at a Bacon version.
(Note: I never measure anything when I cook so adding a little bit more or a little bit less of an ingredient will not destroy this recipe)


The Good Stuff:
1 medium Vidalia onion (chopped) – you can use a standard yellow onion
1 package of Bacon (12-16 oz package)
2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Arborio Rice
1 box (32oz) of Chicken Broth (reduced sodium, 98% FatFree is what I use)
¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Make it Happen:

Step 1) Chop the onion

Step 2) Chop the Bacon into small pieces (I discarded the fatty ends which looked like they had no meat on them)

Step 3) In a small 2 quart saucepan bring the whole container of Chicken broth to a boil, then lower the heat to low and leave on low for the duration of the recipe.

Step 4) Heat up a heavy bottomed pot. This can either enameled cast iron or whatever you use to make a big pot of soup. (stay away from stockpots).

Step 5) Toss in the bacon (IT WILL SPLATTER –wear a sleeved shirt or stay away)
Bacon will take about 5-7 minute to get nice and crispy.
Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate for the bacon grease to be absorbed .

Step 6) Carefully pour the bacon grease into a safe container (I use cleaned paper milk cartons- since you can cut them down to have a big opening for pouring). You are going to discard the grease once it’s cool – Don’t put it down the drain.. ugh

Step 7) It’s a GOOD thing if there little bits of heaven and a light oil slick on the bottom of your pot, add the 2 tbsp of oil to the pot and heat to medium heat, add the chopped onions.

Step 8) Saute the onions until they turn translucent (about 5 minutes).

Step 9) Add the cup of Arborio Rice and sauté into the onions for 1.5 minutes

Step 10) Add a ladle (about ¾ cup) of chicken broth to the rice/onion mixture and stir.

Step 11) Once the liquid is absorbed add another ladle (¾ cup) of chicken broth – Continue this process until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed (you will probably have about 1 ladle leftover of broth in the pot that you can toss away) **It’s very important to do taste tests, Risotto should be firm, but not too hard and certainly not mushy**

Step 12) Remove the pot from the heat and add the Cheddar Cheese and the bacon and mix well. This is your final taste test, depending on the cheese/chicken stock and bacon it could be salty enough. Since I used low sodium bacon and chicken stock I typically can add about 1 tsp of salt to the pot and stir.

Enjoy!

Super Bowl Sunday Delicious Dip

I'm currently on my lunch break - I made my salad and now I'm back at my desk.

I decided to check out Rachael Ray's Weekly Newsletter which appeared in my inbox this morning. This week she is focusing on 5 Super Bowl Dips- one of which is a Spinach Artichoke Dip (SAD). After looking at her recipe I came to the conclusion, based on the ingredients, the SAD recipe that I use (a variation of Alton Browns recipe) is probably better. I recently made this dip for a friend's housewarming party and it got rave reviews! If you decide to test drive this recipe please leave a comment and let me know your opinion.

Spinach Artichoke Dip (SAD)

1 ½ bricks of neufchatel cheese (or Cream Cheese- 1/3 less fat)
1- 8oz or 10z package of frozen chopped spinach
1- can of artichoke quartered hearts in water or brine NOT marinated! (canned veggie isle)
½ -cup light mayonnaise
½ -cup reduced fat sour cream
2/3 -cup shredded parmesan cheese
½- tsp red pepper flakes
½ -tsp garlic powder
½- tsp salt

Defrost the Frozen Spinach (I typically do in the microwave)

In a small pot cover spinach with water and cook on low for 5-10 minutes.

Drain the can of artichoke hearts. Chop them up into smaller pieces.

Remove the neufchatel cheese from the packages and put in a microwavable dish ( I use a medium sized, oval corning ware dish, a 9x9 square glass baking dish would also work).

Microwave the neufchatel cheese from 1 – 1.5 minutes until it begins to bubble.

Stir in all the other ingredients: Mayo, Sour Cream, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder and Salt, chopped artichoke hearts, chopped cooked spinach and parmesan cheese. Mix thoroughly.

Before serving pop the dish back in the microwave (covered with lid or plastic wrap) for 1 minute increments. Serve the dip warm with tortilla chips or sliced French bread

Substitutions and Notes:

*Neufchatel cheese is a version of cream cheese with less fat – every grocery store sells it in the dairy isle right next to the cream cheese.

* You can use an 8 oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts (find by frozen veggies)- defrost and drain before using.

*If using grated parmesan cheese, cut the amount of cheese to a 1/3 cup.

*I attempt to make this as light as I can and still taste yummy, so feel free to fatten this recipe up by using the full-fat versions of sour cream, mayo and cream cheese.

*I do not endorse making this even “healthier” with fat free products.