New things...

Well, Steven and I have a little news from our small corner of the world: We put an offer in on a house!!!!!! We'll know by Wednesday if we were accepted or not. We are overjoyed and nervous all at the same time. I'll report back as soon as we know more. We're truly grownups now!

Other than that, we've had a pretty low key weekend. My friend Mel came over Saturday after cleaning out her Grandparents house (they both just passed away recently) and I was happy to offer her a distraction via baking. We made Chocolate Chip Cupcakes and Grandma Rose's Sugar Cookies. I was able to send her home with some sweet treats before we hit up Old Navy and Ulta (we cannot resist an opportunity to shop) before she had to meet up with her parents for dinner.

I went home and Steven and I made baked risotto and grilled chicken. I tried a new plan of attack on the risotto so much, I thought I'd post it here along with the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Muffins. Enjoy!

Julie's Baked Risotto:
1 Cup Arborio (Risotto) rice
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil
3 Cups Chicken Stock
Herbs
Garlic (1-2 cloves)
Asiago Cheese- 1/4 cup or so, grated
Parmesan Cheese- 1/4 cup or so, grated (NOT the stuff in the Kraft can)

Using a Medium sized sauce pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom with a thin layer. When the oil is hot (ala Rachel Ray), put in the rice, and saute it for about 2 minutes. You'll see it slightly brown. This is the traditional way to start risotto.

Once the rice is browned, add 1 cup of the stock. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Stir occasionally. The more you stir the rice, the more the rice will break down and introduce starch into the liquid, giving a creamier final product. Keep this in mind while stirring. Once the stock has been added you can add garlic (I used precrushed garlic, 1 teaspoon, add to your garlic liking) and herbs.

I used rosemary, chives, basil and fennel seed (which I crushed just a bit between my palms). I understand fennel seed can be hard to find, but it is what gives the final product that "restaurant taste", in my opinion. And my spice rack happened to come with these things. You can use any combo you'd like...but I prefer to keep things in the same family-here Italian.

Once the rice has incorporated the first cup, add another, bring back up to a boil, then reduce and allow to incorporate. Continue until all three cups are incorporated.

Once the rice is ready- move into a small baking dish (I used my new black and white polka dot baker, but I think an 8 x 8 dish would work fine) and sprinkle the asiago and Parmesan cheese on top.

From here I put the baking dish into the oven on "warm" (probably about 225 or so) to let the cheese melt. Also, our chicken wasn't ready yet, so it was great to leave it and not worry about it until we were ready for it. I had it in there for about 20 minutes or so! Once you are about ready to serve, switch over to broil and broil until the cheese is browned on top.

Serve and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Via Perfect Muffins and Bakes Cookbook):

NOTE: I made a few substitutes,....they turned out just fine.

7 TBSP Butter
1/2 Cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 Cup Self Rising Flour
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips (this is extra...they want 1/2 cups)

Combine all ingredients until JUST mixed. I used an ice cream scoop to scoop 8 cupcakes into liners. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. These don't need anything else. If you get good dark chocolate chips, the extra chips will be slightly melty when you bite into it. Yum!

So now Steven and I are just chilling. I have my tea and we're waiting for the Emmy's to start. Its a great Sunday night.

Jewels