Green Risotto

I love risotto. I don’t remember the first time I tasted it, but since that first bite I have been hooked. It is creamy and rich as any comforting starch should be. Usually I pair it along side roasted chicken, but in attempt to have a more nutritious meatless meal, I added lentils and lots of vegetables (I added more vegetables to my dish after I took the picture!). You would not have to add the lentils at all or you could add more or less as you desire. I had some leftover lentils for a few nights ago and thought they would add some more fiber and protein. You can also vary the vegetables. I used what was in the refrigerator and would cook in about the same amount of time. I love using my cast iron skillet to sauté vegetables because it gives them a char and almost a grilled flavor, plus the iron from the pan gets transferred to the pan giving us a little more nutrition as well. Per serving this dish provides: 374 calories, 10g of fat, 2g saturated fat, 46g of carbohydrates, 10g of fiber, and 17g of protein. Not bad at all. Enjoy!


Green Risotto

Serving Size~ 1 cup; Serves 4
2/3 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup French lentils, pre-cooked for about 15 minutes (or you could try adding uncooked at the same time as the rice and let me know how it turns out)
2 tbsp oil (olive or grapeseed), divided
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped
3 cups green beans, asparagus and zucchini cut into 1” pieces
2 shallots, diced
2 large garlic cloves, diced
½ cup white wine
4 cups chicken broth
1 oz parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper


1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pot. Add shallots and garlic and heat gently until fragrant (be careful not to burn). Add rice and allow to toast for a few minutes. Add white wine and allow to cook off for 2-3 minutes. Add the lentils. Add chicken broth, about ½ cup at a time slowly over the next 15-20 minutes. Stir after each addition of chicken broth. Continue adding chicken broth until rice is soft and appears to be suspended in the liquid. (You may not need to use all of the broth. I think I ended up with about ½ cup left at the end)

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet. Add vegetables and sauté until soft (about 8-10) minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. When rice looks like it is close to being done, stir the spinach into the rice and allow to wilt. Add parmesan cheese, remove from heat. Rice will thicken and continue to absorb liquid while it sits. Season with salt (probably won’t need much if the broth is not low sodium) and pepper. Serve with sautéed vegetables and additional parmesan cheese if desired.

Something New

This past few weeks I have been very busy with grad school and last week I had a had a 20+ page paper to work on. I got up early and stayed up late every day trying to get it done. I didn't have time to cook anything, which always makes for a bad week. To me, cooking is doing something nice for myself. The day is always better if I can give myself something homemade and good for my body that I prepared. Thankfully my paper was due yesterday and after I submitted it, I got busy planning on a delicious meal for dinner! I have had a squash sitting on my counter for weeks and I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer so that is where I started.
I didn't grow up eating very much pork, so this past year I have been experimenting with several types of pork like cutlets and tenderloin. I love it because it is very lean, does not take long to cook and takes on the flavor of the spices you put with it. Tenderloin is especially easy to cook and it not very expensive. The spices I used on it made it especially flavorful!
Squash is another food I not have a lot of experience preparing. I looked at several recipes, but nothing really sounded particularly interesting to me. Earlier this month I made baked chicken with apples and shallots, so I decided to use the squash with those ingredients and see how it turned out. Thankfully the result was perfect! The combination paired wonderfully with the pork. This is a delicious winter meal that would be perfect to share with friends and family. I served it with some garlic green beans and creamy risotto. Enjoy!


Balsamic Pork Tenderloin and Winter Squash Medley


Squash Medley (serves 3-4)
1 acorn squash
1 crisp, red apple
1 shallot
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
cinnamon

Cut squash into slices and then with a paring knife remove the skin and cut into 1 inch cubes. Cut apple into 1 inch cubes (leave on skin). Loose cut shallot into strips. Combine squash, apple, shallot, and cranberries in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut butter into small pieces and dot squash mixture with the butter. Toss to combine. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Add to oven with pork tenderloin and cook for another 2o minutes at 500 degrees.

Balsamic Pork Tenderloin (serves 3-4)
1 pork tenderloin
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp minced onion
2-4 cloves garlic, diced
Kosher salt
pepper
2 tsp grill seasoning

Heat oven to 500 degrees. With a small paring knife, cut small slits in tenderloin. Coat tennderloin with 1-2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Season liberally with salt and pepper. In a small bowl combine 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic, rosemary, onion, grill seasoning. Pour over tenderloin and massage into meat. Cook for 20 minutes. Meat is done when internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let meat rest for 10 minutes and then cut into slices and serve.