Vegetable Risotto

This is a simple dish to make that goes great with chicken or steak. If you are a vegetarian it is a great dish to have alone as well. Since it has been so hot I hadn't cooked or baked in awhile and was really wanting to cook something....so I decided to cook this vegetable risotto and bake (Cookie Dough filled cupcakes) on the same day. This was a horrible decision. It was so hot that the butter started melting before I even turned on the stove! Despite the heat, I successfully completed the cooking.

Ingredients:

Risotto - 1 cup

Butter 1- tbsp

White Wine - 1/2 cup

Asparagus 1/4 cup

Onion 1/4 cup

Mushroom 1/4 cup

Chicken Broth 4 cups

Begin by chopping up a few vegetables of your choice. I used about a 1/4 cup of each vegetable, but you can use a variety of vegetables and use different portions of each as well. Once you have chopped up the proper amount, toss in a pan with butter and sautee for a few minutes. Add the wine and risotto and cook until wine is nearly evaporated. Pour in one cup of chicken broth and stir. Once that has evaporated pour in the next cup. Continue doing this for all four cups. When the fourth cup of broth has been evaporated the risotto should be ready. Enjoy!

Blackberry Lemon Muffins

Blackberry Lemon Muffins

Recipe compliments of hazelbloom.typepad.com

Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Muffin Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
12 ounces fresh blackberries, cut in half

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees, and line 12 muffin cups with liners (or grease the cups).

2. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg and then stir in the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the buttermilk, and stir just until moistened.

6. Add the blackberries and mix well.  

7. Fill your muffin cups almost to the top with the batter.

8. Sprinkle the topping evenly over each cupcake.

9. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until they're golden brown.

10. Spread some butter on your muffin and enjoy!

This was my first attempt at baking muffins and they turned out pretty well.  The blackberry lemon taste is a perfect combination.  I doubled this recipe because you can never make to many muffins.  Next time I bake these I would add a little more lemon to balance out the flavors.  This weekend I am going to invest in a jumbo muffin tin and then attempt to make sour cream chocolate chip muffins.  Stay posted....