A Few Summer Recipes

I hate asparagus. It is by far my least favorite veggie (that I've tasted so far, at least). However, I made a risotto last night that had me eating ALL of my asparagus and enjoying every bite. We ate is as the main dish, but my husband seems to think it would have been much better paired with a steak (that's his view on most of the vegetarian dishes I serve!). You could, however, add a little chicken or shrimp to this recipe and make it a main dish that would please everyone. Here's the recipe:

Asparagus Risotto

4 C. Chicken Broth
2 T. Olive Oil
4 green onions, minced
1 c. Arborio Rice
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
4 T. Butter
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 C. grated Parmesan Cheese

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and maintain at a simmer.

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the green onions and uncooked rice and cook for 5 minutes, or until the rice is golden brown.

Begin adding the broth, a 1/2 C. at a time and cook, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes, or until all the broth is absorbed and the risotto becomes creamy. Just before adding the last 1/2 C. of broth, add the asparagus, butter and pepper. Stir in the cheese just before serving!

It is wonderful. I hope you all try it and love it as much as we did!

I also had a couple other recipes I wanted to share. This next one is a GREAT summer recipe. It is a syrup that you pour over your fruit salad to keep the fruit from turning. It is amazing. I made my fruit salad a whole day in advance and not even the apples had turned. However, if you are going to add banana, I would do that right before serving, because bananas seem to turn quickly no matter what!

Fruit Salad Syrup

1/3 C. sugar
1/4 C. fresh mint leaves
2 T. lemon juice

Bring the sugar and 1/2 C. of water to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon and mint. Let steep for 15 minutes, then strain out the mint.

I have already used this recipe 3 times and summer hasn't even begun yet! It really gives the salad a fresh taste. My kids love it!

The final recipe I wanted to share is a great one to get your kids (or husbands!) to eat more veggies. This is one of my husband's favorites and getting him to like "strange" veggies is quite hard.

Meatball Kabobs

32 frozen, fully cooked meatballs, thawed
1 red pepper cut into 1 inch squares
1 green pepper cut into 1 inch squares
1/4 C. apricot jam
1/4 C. Barbecue Sauce of your choice

Thread the meatballs and peppers onto 8 skewers. I do meatball, red pepper, green pepper, meatball, etc.

Microwave the jam in a small bowl on high for 15 seconds. Stir in the BBQ sauce. Brush half onto the kabobs.

Grill the kabobs for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally and brushing with the remaining mixture the last 2 minutes.

Delicious!

I hope everyone is enjoying the weather. Only a month to go until we start getting our fresh produce. I can't wait!!!

P.S. is everyone watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC on Friday nights? It is a GREAT show with an even better message. No wonder our country is so fat . . .