One-Pot Rice and Chicken (Easy Risotto)

This one-pot meal is really like a creamy risotto
but without all the stirring and standing over the stove.
You'll keep going back "for just a bit more."

I've made this several times now and I'm hooked. Do not attempt to prepare this with regular, long-grain rice. Why? It will turn out "mushy" opposed to "creamy." The Arborio rice gives it an unctuous, risotto-like consistency. To make it more frugal, I buy skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and de-bone and skin them myself saving the scraps to the freezer for use in soup stock later. A heavy-bottomed pan will ensure that the rice doesn't scorch. I use an enamel-lined, cast-iron Dutch oven. this recipe is not time consuming and one could cut the veggies and chicken the night before to make things go even faster.

I do recommend using your own homemade chicken/turkey stock and using a quality cheese you grate yourself.

• 1 large carrot, roughly cut
• 1 celery rib, roughly cut
• Shallots equivalent to about a 1/2 medium onion, roughly cut
• 1-2 cloves garlic, roughly cut

Place the above four ingredients in a small food processor and pulse just until chopped. You don't want a paste. You want one cup. A bit more is just fine. I leave some carrots in slices just for presentation.

• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 3 cubed, skinned and deboned raw chicken thighs, cut into chunks, about one cup or 8 ounces.
• 1 heaping cup raw Arborio rice
• 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
• 2 1/2  - 3 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup dry white wine (don't omit)
• 1/2 cup or more grated Parmessan cheese or similar
• 3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter (not margarine)
• Freshly chopped parsley

Add the chicken stock in a 3-4 cup measuring cup. Place in microwave and nuke until hot, about 5 minutes. 

Heat a bit of olive oil in a heavy pan. And the vegetable mixture and chopped mushrooms and sautee until softened and steam begins to dissipate. Push to one side in the pan and add the cubed chicken. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. After a few minutes, mix with the vegetable mixture until all is caramelized and meat begins to brown. It doesn't have to cook through at this stage.

Add the white wine. Stir and allow to reduce a bit. Add the HOT chicken stock. stir. Add the dried onion flakes and stir. Now add the rice. Bring back to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. How easy and fast what that?!

If too much liquid remains, remove cover and allow to simmer. But you want some liquid because Arborio rice absorbs quite a bit of liquid even after it's done. When a flat-bottomed wooden spoon leaves a visible path when scraped along the bottom of the pan, it's usually done.

Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Now add the grated cheese.

If you want it creamier, just add a bit more of the reserved chicken stock.

Mix. Sprinkle with the parsley and mix. Serve with more cheese if desired.

NOTES: I've made with yellow onion but prefer the shallots. I've made it without the dried onion but prefer to add it for extra taste. This reheats very well and is even better the next day. If you've allowed it to get too thick, no problem--just add a bit more stock. Arborio rice is very forgiving. It's like a sponge.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake

• The good thing about this cake is that it allows you to rationalize: Hmmmmmmmmmm..... I can eat chocolate and sugar because it also has something healthy in it--oatmeal!
  
  Seriously, this is a great little cake and it's so moist all it really needs is powdered sugar. Or vanilla ice cream. Or whipped cream. But remember, you have that oatmeal to make it healthy, so go ahead.
  
  3/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
  1/2 cup boiling water
  1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1/4 cup margarine
  6 tablespoons white sugar
  6 tablespoons packed brown sugar (1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons)
  1 egg
  3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  
  Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan. Set oven to 350.
  
  Pour the hot water over the oatmeal in a large bowl. Stir. Add chocolate chips and let stand for about 20 minutes. In another bowl, cream the sugars and the margarine. Add the egg and beat well. Now add the chocolate-oatmeal mixture and vanilla.
  
  Mix together the flour baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  
  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
  
  Pour into the greased pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Bean Soup

Thickness of your soup will depend how much stock you add.

Good bean soup requires several important steps. The first is preparing a great ham base see my post for December 25, 2009 or click here: Kitchen Bounty: Soup Base for Ham, Pea, and Lentil Soup

Second is soaking the beans overnight. DO NOT ATTEMPT to make bean soup without this important step unless you wish to contribute to the depletion of the planet's ozone layer due to uncontrolled gases! I put my beans in a colander and then place that in a large bowl and fill it with water several hours before going to bed. Then I lift out the colander, throw out the water, rinse the beans, and fill the bowl with water yet again. I do this several times. It will make your beans much more "friendly."

I love sweet vermouth with bean soup. Sweet vermouth is like the taste of autumn and complements the soup. You may omit it. If you do, just add one cup more stock.

It's important to let the soup simmer for several hours and even more important to taste it periodically. Keep some extra ham stock on hand (or a can of chicken stock) to add if the soup becomes too thick.

Like most soups, this improves with age and is even better the next day. I like to sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese on top of each bowl when I serve it. I always served a pot of this soup at my autumn open house at my art studio along with apple crisp. They were both always a smashing hit.

• 1, 16-ounce package dried navy beans
• 4-5 cups ham stock
• 1, 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, broken apart, including the juice
• 1 cup sweet vermouth
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 heaping teaspoons minced, fresh garlic
• 1-2 cups chopped ham
• 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Additional stock
• 1 smoked ham hock or ham shank, rinsed
• 2 whole cloves (optional) each tied with a thin piece thin of twine (to make it easy to remove)
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine the soaked beans, stock, veggies, ham and seasonings in a large stockpot and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for two hours.

After two hours, taste for seasonings. Add the ham hock or ham shank, the cloves and a pinch or two of the red pepper flakes if desired. Stir. Add more stock if necessary. Cover and continue to simmer for another hour or two, longer if you have the time. After several hours, remove the cloves, the bay leaf, and the ham hock or shank. Ladle into bowls and enjoy.

I never add salt to a ham-based dish since ham is usually pretty salty to begin with. If you don't have extra ham for the soup, have the deli counter cut you several one-half inch slices. "Ham Off the Bone" is a common deli cut that works well.

Soup Base for Ham, Pea, and Lentil Soup

Winter is SOUP TIME! I always make a ham base for my bean soups. It's really quite easy and makes all the difference, especially since one doesn't always just happen to have a "ham bone" on hand.

• 2-3 pounds smoked ham shanks or smoked ham hocks or smoked ham neck and back bones or a combination
  
• 1 onion roughly cut
• 2-3 whole cloves
• 1-2 carrots, cut into fourths
• 1-2 celery stalks, cut into fourths
• about six cups of water
  

Rinse the ham "parts" really well and place into a stock pot. Fill with water and swirl then drain to clean bones even more. Add the rest of the ingredients and add water until covered. Bring to a SLOW boil and then immediately lower to a simmer. Skim off foam. Cover and simmer for 8 hours. I usually put it on the stove before I go to bed. An electric stove works best for this. You will get a clearer stock if it doesn't boil.

When cool enough to handle, strain through a colander. And then strain through a sieve. You'll have a rich broth with which to make soup. Place in the refrigerator overnight and remove the fat that rises to the top. You'll be left with a very rich and gelatinous stock with which to make a great bean soup. You can store this in the freezer. I like to use 3-4 cup tupperware-like containers.

Recipe for bean soup is here: Kitchen Bounty: Bean Soup