Many thanks to Pioneer Woman!

Oh, Pioneer Woman, you are eternally amazing. You find and/or create the most wonderful recipes and I am forever grateful!

Today I am using the Ryan's Bolgonese Sauce that she raved about. She was oh, so right.

Guest starring in this post is the kitchen of my good friends David and Meredith. Thanks so much, guys!

Mmm just think, these ingredients are going to create amazingness in just a little while!

I improvised and used shallots instead of red onion since the onion I purchased went moldy in 3 days. (Side note: who knew onions got moldy?) I also used butter since I forgot to bring olive oil.

I cheated and purchased a bag of grated carrots because a. it's so easy and b. it's wayyyy less messy!

Browning the ground beef. Delicious, raised by a family friend, locally butchered ground beef!

Post-tomato paste. The carrots looked like unmelted cheese to me at this point.

Adding the red wine. This added an amazing depth of flavor to the sauce. Such a good ingredient.

Letting the flavors meld. Mmm mmm good!

A better picture with less steam.

After adding the garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Oh my gosh, it smelled amazing!

Added some Parmesan cheese which made it even more delicious.

Amazing! God bless you, Pioneer Woman and Pioneer Woman's friend Ryan!

Here's the dirty details:

Ryan's Bolgonese Sauce

1/2 cups olive oil

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1 whole large red onion, chopped (Like I said, I used shallots. About 3, I think)

2 pounds ground beef

2 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp dried basil flakes

6 oz tomato paste

5 cloves garlic, minced (Trust me, this is the just-right amount.)

1-2 cups red wine (I used 1 1/2 ish)

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

28 oz canned whole tomatoes

1 cup milk

salt and pepper, to taste

fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until brown.

2. Add oregano and basil. After ground beef is mostly browned, add tomato paste and heat through. Add garlic and stir to combine.

3. Add red wine and Worcestershire and stir. Add tomatoes and milk, letting simmer 30 minutes-2 hours. Serve with pasta and Parmesan.

I made it with penne which is kind of weird, but it was what I had on hand. I didn't let it simmer very much longer than 30 minutes, but the longer the better with this, I think. Bon appetit!

Sundried Tomato Risotto

This wonderful recipe came from Pioneer Woman, which means it was, of course, delicious! I just happened to have all the ingredients for this and had a craving for warm, homey food earlier this week. This hit the spot perfectly!

It took me 3 tries, no lie, to get a non-shaky shot of the ingredients! I never realized how hard it could be to get a stable picture of non-moving objects!

I am terrible at chopping onions. I'm very sorry Ree, you have explained over and over how to do this and yet I still fail miserably!

Regardless, onions and garlic combined is God's greatest gift to humanity.

These sundried tomatoes were a beast to cut. I definitely wished I had a food processor!

This pot has been the most amazing purchase my mom has ever made on my behalf!

Mmm onions and garlic in butter! It does get better!

Adding the wine

Arborio rice is beautiful! It's so pearly and tiny!

I made a small boo-boo and added the wine to the onions before the rice, but it turned out alright in the end :)

The tomatoes turned much brighter throughout the cooking process

All mixed together

Adding the broth a little at a time is a long process, but so worth it! It turns out soooo creamy, without any dairy products at all!

Adding Parmesan. Yes, it's the bottled stuff, because I lack the budget for the good stuff. Forgive me, culinary gods, for I have sinned.

I did add some 2% milk rather than heavy cream, because that was what I had on hand, and that's what Pioneer Woman said to do.

Heaven in a bowl. Yum!

Sundried Tomato Risotto

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons EVOO

1/2 whole large yellow onion, diced

3 whole cloves garlic, minced

2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

7-9 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and minced

1 cup dry white wine (optional, I opted.)

7 cups low sodium chicken broth

salt and pepper as needed

1 cup Parmesan

1/4 cups heavy whipping cream (or, in my case, 2% milk)

1. Heat broth in a saucepan or in the microwave and set aside

2. Heat butter and EVOO in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes.

3. Add dry rice, stirring to coat and cooking for 3 more minutes. Add wine, stir and cook over medium-low heat until most of liquid is absorbed. Add sundried tomatoes and stir.

4. Begin adding broth, one cup at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed, then adding the next cup. Repeat until rice is done. Rice should have a slight bite, but not be crunchy. I used about 6 cups of broth total.

5. Remove from heat, then stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Cooking again!

Finally getting back into the swing of things! I've been in my apartment for a little over a month now, and despite a few minor things, I love it!

I was very excited to get back to cooking and blogging about it! Tonight, I made Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chive Sauce from www.eatingwell.com. I made some mashed potatoes to go with it, and they were the perfect side because they used some of the sauce too! This dish was delicious and I can't wait to make it again! And the best part is that it's only 244 calories per serving!



Mmm Dijon mustard! Be very excited.



Dredged in flour...



The sizzle when these hit the pan was a good sign of things to come!



I used green onions because they were cheaper than chives. I think they worked just as well!



Mmm shallots!



De-glazing the pan



I only used 2 chicken breasts rather than the 4 called for, because a. there were only two of us, b. I only had two, and c. they were very good sized!



Doesn't that look amazing?



Dinner all set up on my new (old) table!


I was surprised at how well the close-up turned out, considering that I'm still using my BlackBerry to take pictures.



I can't believe I ate the whole thing!



This recipe is Mike-approved!

Here's the recipe:

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chive Sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound), trimmed of all fat
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
3 teaspoons EVOO, divided
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 14 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup chopped chives (about 1 bunch)

1. Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Season both sides of chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dredge chicken in 1/4 cup flour.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to plate, cover and keep warm.
3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring constantly to de-glaze pan, for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon flour, stirring to coat. Add wine, broth and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, stirring often.
4. Return the chicken to pan, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until heated through and no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes. Stir in sour cream and mustard until smooth, turn chicken to coat in sauce. Stir in chives and serve immediately.

Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings

My first foray into cooking for a blog! I cook every Tuesday for my family and enjoy trying out new recipes. Right now, I am working my way through the wonderful Taste of Home cookbook! Here's the recipe:

Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds beef stew meat (I used about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (this is for cooking the onions. Use olive oil if you prefer- I did!)
2 cans (10 1/2 ounces each condensed beef broth, undiluted
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
6 medium carrots, cut into 2 inch chunks (I used baby carrots and halved them. Carrots are carrots, and this was an easy shortcut.)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Dumplings:
1 egg
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley (I used dried. It's October. Sue me.)
1 tablespoon minced onion (I used onion powder)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 cups finely shredded raw potato
Additional all-purpose flour

1. In a plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add meat, toss to coat. In a Dutch oven, cook meat along with onions in oil until the meat is browned on all sides and onions are tender.
2. Stir in the broth, water, vinegar, carrots and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is almost tender. Discard bay leaves.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg; add the crumbs, flour, parsley, onion and seasonings. Stir in potatoes; mix well. With floured hands, shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Dust with flour.
4. Bring stew to a boil, drop dumplings into stew. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes (do not lift cover while simmering). Serve immediately.




The array of ingredients! (The carrots were taking a bath in the sink to defrost)



Prep included 2 1/2 cups of finely shredded raw potatoes. I could have used the food processor, but that doesn't make for a very fun picture, does it? Be forewarned: your arm will be sore later on if you choose this method!



All done! I drained the "juice" from the potatoes so the dumplings wouldn't fall apart.

I followed the first two steps, and my mother stopped by to observe briefly:



and took a picture of me in action:



I love chopping onions for some reason. I think because, when done well, it's so methodical. It satisfies my OCD.



This is what the pot looked like after the first 2 steps:



Yum!

Next, to the dumplings! I was curious and nervous, as I've never made dumplings before, or even really eaten them.




I'm a big fan of the way Rachael Ray measures: by the handful!

The finished product:



The cat was licking his chops in anticipation!



My beautiful dumplings awaiting their bath:



In they go!



Note: do not, as I did, forget to lower the heat for the last half hour after bringing it to a boil. The pot is still soaking to remove the remains...

The finished product, along with Sour Cream Drop Biscuits



The recipe did not make very much at all, although part of that may have been my fault for boiling the stew down by accident. I'm not sure if this is a keeper, but I may try it again without the dumplings.

Bon appetit!