Shrimp Risotto with Snap Peas and asparagus

2 T. EVOO
1 small fennel bulb - thinly sliced
1 shallot - thinly sliced
1 garlic clove - minced
1/4 C. dry white wine
1 C. Arborio rice
3 C. chicken stock
3/4 lb. medium shrimp - peeled and deveined. I used the already cooked shrimp.
1/2 C. sugar snap peas - trimmed
1 C asparagus
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. salt


Heat Oil in a heavy bottom pot. when the oil is good and hot(I heated my oil on medium low - a 4 on my stove, add fennel, shallot, and garlic. cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender (about 5 min.)
Add wine and cook, stirring until liquid is almost evaporated - this took about 1 minute.
Stir in rice and stir around for 1 - 2 minutes. - Make sure your burner is on a medium low setting. This takes a while to cook -about 30 - 40 minutes.

Add 1 C. of stock at a time - wait until liquid is evaporated until you add the next cup of stock. After your 3rd Cup of stock is evaporated taste the arborio rice and see if it is done (not crunchy at all) If you feel like it should cook some more - add another cup of rice and stir it around until it is evaporated. Try the rice again. It should be done by now.

Stir in Shrimp, snap peas, asparagus, zest, and salt. cook, covered, until shrimp is just opaque in center and snap peas are crisp- tender - about 3 - 4 minutes.

This recipe was great and it was really low fat. 200 calories in 1 C. 5 Weight watcher points.

Beef Stroganoff

I double this recipe so we can have leftovers and I can freeze enough for another meal.

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds cubed round steak, cut into thin strips (I cut them into small bite size pieces). Season with salt, pepper and some garlic powder.
* All-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can beef broth
* 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
* Salt and black pepper
* 1 cup sour cream
* Cooked egg noodles

Directions

Season the steak strips with salt,pepper,and garlic powder then dust with flour. In a large skillet, quickly brown them on both sides in the olive oil and butter. Remove the steak from the pan. Add the onion slices and mushrooms to the pan drippings. Saute for a few minutes, until the onion is tender. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour. Put the steak back into the pan with the onion and mushrooms. Add the mushroom soup and beef broth. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, covered. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the sour cream the last few minutes, right before you serve. Serve over cooked noodles.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I was trying to use up a lot of left overs so I came up with this recipe. It was yummy to us. Hope you enjoy.

1 pound of ground beef
2 peppers (red, yellow, orange or green) - diced up
1/2 onion - diced
1 stalk celery - diced
2 cloves of garlic - diced
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 - 3 cups of cooked brown rice
2 cans of tomato soup
1 - 2 cups of chicken broth
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of pepper

In a stock pot put a little olive oil in the pot and add onions, pepper, celery, and garlic. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1tsp pepper. Saute over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, rice and tomato soup and 1 cup of chicken broth. You can add more broth if you like the soup thinner.
This had a great taste and you can use up a lot of stuff from leftovers or clean your pantry.

Baked Potato Soup

I doubled this recipe so we would have extra. You can use 1/2 C. half and half and 1/2 C. skim milk to cut down on the fat. This was an amazing recipe - SO Flavorful. It is a little spicy due to the hot sauce so if you don't like it spicy - just leave it out or use 1/2 the amount. This was the best potato soup I have eaten. Double it because you will want leftovers!

Ingredients

* 3 bacon strips, diced
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 3 cups chicken broth
* 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 cup half-and-half cream
* 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* Shredded Cheddar cheese
* Minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil - this will take about a half hour or until potatoes are tender. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Muffin Frittatas

Ingredients

* 6 eggs
* 1/2 cup milk - I left this out and it turned out fine.
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 3/4 cup cooked potatoes
* 1/4 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1/4 cup chopped spinach

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in medium bowl until blended. Add cheese, potatoes, bell pepper and spinach; mix well. Spoon evenly into 12 greased muffin cups, about 1/4 cup each. - I made them it with 1/2 C. mixture in 4 of the Big muffin tin. It took about 10 minutes longer to bake.

2. Bake in 350 degrees F oven until just set, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool on rack 5 minutes. Remove from cups; serve warm.

Wilted Spinach

I have a hard time getting Jeremy to eat anything green and leafy but he will eat this so I try to make it a few times a month.

What you need:
1 bag of spinach
4 strips of bacon - diced
1/4 of a sweet onion - diced

In a saute pan cook up your bacon pieces and onion over low heat. After they are all cooked rinse your spinach and add it to your saute pan. Stir quickly until the bacon and onion are mixed throughout the spinach. I let this saute for about 2 -3 minutes and then serve it hot.