One-Pot Bacon and Mushroom Risotto

Hello Dear Followers,

We took on the challenge this week, the risotto challenge that is. We have been told that risotto could easily be messed up, but with a lot of constant stirring and a prayer at times 🙂 we were successful in this endeavor.

We made bacon and mushroom risotto. It was super tasty. It wasn’t until we plated it that we realized which ingredient took on a major role. At first, Anna thought it was the bacon and Daniela thought it was definitely the mushrooms.

We plated the risotto on top of a lightly seasoned baked pork chop. It was the perfect pair. We were very proud of this dish, we’d definitely make it again.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced – ( you may need more than one, your preference)
• 5 strips bacon, diced (please only use what this calls for, we used the whole package of bacon, and it overpowered the dish… but we love bacon, so we didn’t mind)
• 8 oz wild mushrooms, such as porcini or shiitake, sliced
• 1 ½ cups arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• 5 cups chicken broth ( You will need two boxes of this. We made it with 3 cups, watch as you stir.)
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish (Go crazy!)
• 3-4 pork chops
• Varied seasonings for the pork chops

Risotto Instructions:

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook 3-4 minutes until soft and slightly transparent.

Add the bacon and stir constantly until it starts to crisp.

Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the arborio rice and cook for one minute, stirring constantly so the oil coats the grains.

Stir in the white wine and simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add one cup (235ml) of the chicken stock and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the rice absorbs most of the liquid, continue to add 1-2 cups (235-470ml) of stock at a time until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes total.

NOTE: The risotto should be al dente and fall back in on itself when you run the spoon along the bottom of the pot.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and remove from the heat.

Serve and garnish with extra Parmesan cheese.

Pork Chops:

We baked pork chops and used a variety of seasonings, you can really use what you want for this. Let the risotto on top help bring out the flavors in the pork chops. Heat the oven between 350-400 degrees for about an hour or less. Don’t overcook it!

Enjoy!

Until next week!

Recipe by BuzzfeedTasty

The Ultimate Stuffed Baked Potato and Tina’s Meatloaf

Hello Dear Followers,

We took a hiatus last week, but we’re back today with some delicious comfort food that will not only leave you feeling full but satisfied with your dinner.

As you can see in the title above we made “Tina’s meatloaf.” Tina is Daniela’s mother and this meatloaf is her recipe. Now like many Italian mothers, there isn’t exact measurements for the meatloaf, because Italians measure with their hearts when it comes to good cooking.

The ultimate stuffed baked potato was just as equally filling and comes from Food Network’s Tyler Florence. This was such an awesome dish that we were thinking of making it twice this week!

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Here are the two recipes:

Tina’s Meatloaf:

Ingredients:

Ground Beef (or meatloaf mix) whichever you prefer.

Lipton’s onion package (the one you can make french onion dip with)

Breadcrumbs

Parmesan cheese

Ketchup

Salt

Pepper

Parsley

Eggs (if you are making two meatloafs by chance, use two eggs instead of one, we made two so we used two eggs in our mix.) Oh! And separate the egg from the yolk.

Milk

Bacon (for the top of the meatloaf)

Instructions:

Mix all of the ingredients together and get ready to get your hands dirty. If you happen to notice it is too dry, add more milk or too soggy, add more bread crumbs.

We added bacon on top of the meatloaf, which is not what Daniela’s mother normally does, but it added just the right amount of extra flavor needed for the dish.

Shape it into a loaf and put it in a pan with a little oil. Bake at about 350-400 degrees. It should be in the oven no more than an hour.

The Ultimate Stuffed Baked Potato

Ingredients:

4-6 medium sized potatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

1/2 stick of butter

1/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of milk

About two cups, plus more for topping of shredded white cheddar

2 heads of broccoli, florets, blanched in salty water

1/2 pound of bacon, medium dice, cooked until crisp.

2 tablespoons of chives chopped

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees

Begin by baking the potatoes, as this will take the longest. Place potatoes onto the baking sheet. Pierce with a fork, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Place into preheated oven and bake for about an hour.

While they are baking, prepare the stuffing. Make a mornay sauce by combining the butter and flour over medium heat and then whisking in the milk. Fold in about two cups of cheese and stir until melted. Once melted, remove from heat and fold in the cooked broccoli florets, crispy bacon bits, chopped chives and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

When the potatoes are done make a cut across the top and squeeze it from the bottom so a small pouch opens and the bottom is squared off. Spoon the filling over the top of the potato, sprinkle with cheese, season with pepper, to taste, and then top in the oven for two more minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Recipe by Food Network

We hope you find these dishes as delectable as we did.

Until next week!

Creamy Mushrooms and Honey Garlic Steak Cubes

Hello Dear Followers,

You ever have those moments in life that you are set with a plan about how things are going to go and it turns out entirely different? This was what our dish or dishes were tonight.

We had set out to make Creamy Garlic Mushrooms ( which we did.. that was our dish). Then Daniela thought, well the mushrooms are a side dish, they aren’t a meal, so we added a Honey Garlic Steak Bites.

TOTALLY TWO DIFFERENT dishes. But both equally delicious. We then decided we needed something else, like a rice or maybe a pasta to go with mushrooms and steak. We discussed this for five minutes as the water boiled, we filled the pot when we thought we were making pasta, then took water out when we thought we were making rice. We made rice.

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The night began so calmly, which was weird for both us because usually we’re very high strung when we’re making the dish we’ve planned to make, a lot of anxiety being thrown everywhere in the kitchen between the both of us. We’re working on this, we swear!

We also came to the conclusion, we cannot by any means have a third person in the kitchen with both of us while we’re trying to cook, it throws everything off. It doesn’t matter where you are in the kitchen with us.

Tonight we had Anna’s husband home while we were cooking, he wasn’t in the kitchen with us, but he was a third person. We honestly don’t know what it is. The kids don’t count here because they are part of the groove we have created.

The night picked up once we realized we were falling behind and ended with Daniela breaking one of Anna’s dishes, so all in all it was a typical night at Tuesday Night Suppers!

Here are the recipes we made:

Honey Garlic Bites

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of sirloin steak, fat trimmed, diced into cubes. ( You can also pre-cut cube steaks that are normally used in stews too, to avoid having to do the cutting yourself)

1/2 cup of low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons of honey

3 garlic cloves (minced – 1 tbsp)

2 tbsp of olive oil or vegetable oil

Green onions or sesame seeds as a garnish.

Instructions:

Place the steak cubes in a resealable bag or bowl covered.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey and garlic. Pour over steak and seal bag or cover bowl. Let the steak marinate in the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours. (Honestly, we did 45 minutes, it was fine).

Heat one tablespoon in a heavy non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Remove half the steak from the marinade, transfer to skillet (spaced apart) and let sear until golden brown, about one minute then flip to opposite side.

Let the steak cook to your specifications. (Internal safe temps 145 degrees). Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining steak.

(We didn’t follow this direction, we put all the steak in the skillet at once… again it’s fine.)

Serve warm with green garnish.

Tip: Serve this over white rice, it becomes much like a stir fry. We actually realized this would have been great if it was made in a Wok. It was truly an Asian dish.

Recipe by: Cookingclassy.com

Creamy Garlic Mushrooms with Bacon

Ingredients:

8 ounces of bacon cut into strips

2 tablespoons of butter

26 ounces of brown mushrooms ( We recommend getting two packages, because mushrooms shrink so much.) Also, wash them thoroughly.

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/4 cup of dry white wine (or chicken broth/stock – we used the cooking wine we had from last week. Worked just fine.)

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (thickened cream or evaporated milk)

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley

1 teaspoon of fresh chopped thyme

Salt and pepper to season

1/2 cup of fresh shredded or grated mozzarella

1/4 cup of fresh shredded or grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Fry the bacon first in an oven safe skillet over medium heat until crispy. Once ready transfer it to paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil. Set aside.

In the same pan used for the bacon, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and drizzle oil and mix through, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes to light lightly brown mushrooms release their juices. ( Use your judgement here about the mushrooms, we left them frying for longer than 2-3 minutes.)

Pour in the wine (or broth) and let it reduce for two minutes, while occasionally stirring. Preheat the broiler or oven grill to 350 degrees at this point in the process.

Add in the garlic and stir it through for a minute until fragrant. Pour in the cream and herbs. Reduce the heat to low, gently simmer until tender (about 4-5 minutes) and sauce is slightly thickened… use your own discretion.) Season with salt and pepper.

Add the bacon back in and give everything a good mix and combine all of the flavors together. Top the mushrooms with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the mushrooms are done to your liking. (About 3 to 5 minutes).

Serve warm.

Tip: We served this with rice as well, but honestly this might have been good with a penne pasta or maybe an egg noodle. It was delicious!

Despite the differences in taste between the mushrooms and the steak cubes, the sauce from the mushrooms worked well with the steak.

Tip: If you plan to make the steak cubes with the mushrooms, don’t follow the recipe we provided above, simply sear the steak cubes in some olive oil in a skillet with some salt and pepper and serve with the mushroom sauce. We didn’t do this, but you definitely should!

Recipe by: CafeDelites.com

Until Next week!

A Taste of the Italian Countryside…

Hello Dear Followers,

We are back after a holiday break and ready to start cooking again! Tonight we can certainly say was eventful. Anna’s daughter had the flu, so we weren’t sure if we were cooking at all and just an hour before we were supposed to cook, the power went out.

But we were excited nonetheless to get cooking for the New Year! Welcome once again to Tuesday Night Suppers where two friends get together to learn, laugh and cook amazing dishes!

Tonight’s dish was Spaghetti Carbonara. It’s relatively easy for a weeknight dish for the whole family. Neither of us ever had this dish, so it was a chance to try something new.

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We got the recipe from The New York Times, but you can literally find this dish anywhere. It’s a traditional Italian dish that can be altered how you like.

Here is the recipe: Boil water for the spaghetti, we used about one box of spaghetti for this. Depending on how many people you’re feeding, use your own judgement.

To make the egg and cheese mixture, we used about three eggs and a little more than 1/3 cups of Parmesan Cheese and Pecorino Romano cheese. Be sure to add a pinch of salt and as much black pepper as you want.

In a skillet, we put olive oil and fried bacon. You don’t want to over fry it, you will want just the right crisp. Once the bacon is ready, set it to the side.

Once the pasta is ready, drain the water, but save about a cup of water and set aside to add to the pasta when you add the mixture and bacon.

Put the pasta in the skillet and add the bacon and have the stove on low heat. You will then remove the pasta and bacon from the stove and put it in a huge bowl at which point you will add the cheese and egg mixture and the cup of water you saved aside.

Here is where it might get tricky (at least for us!) The cheese mixture was much thicker than the recipe looked, while we did add an extra egg, we kept the recipe relatively the same. We weren’t sure what happened. We then decided to improvise and add a little butter and put it back in the skillet for about a minute to get a creamier mixture from it. That did the trick!

It is ready to serve. You can look at the full recipe from The New York Times here: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12965-spaghetti-carbonara

This dish doesn’t pack much of a punch, it reminded us of a light Alfredo sauce. Daniela actually added a spritz of lemon to hers giving it a bit more taste. This dish is so versatile and filling. We recommend adding chicken, spinach and garlic to this dish to give it something more. The choice is yours!

Until next week!