A BIG ficken Sandwich

I made a wonderfully tasty and LARGE ficken sandwich for dinner last night. It took a little bit of creative eating, but we managed to fill our bellies with this delicious sandwich.

Mushroom Rosemary Rissoto

Here is a creamy, delicious risotto that will make your taste buds do a warm happy dance! Risotto offers a lesson in patience because the water is added 1/4 cup at a time while it is stirred....constantly. There is no walking away during the preparation of risotto, so devote your full attention to this dish. You can not rush risotto either, it takes it's time, slowly softening to the added broth. I enjoy the calm stirring and focused attention while preparing this dish as it makes me slow down and savor the moment.

Mushroom Rosemary Risotto
1 cup "no" chicken broth (found at Whole Foods)
2 3/4 cup veggie broth
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled (or 1 TBS fresh chopped)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 TBS olive oil
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
2 TBS chopped shallots
1 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I skipped this and it was still yummy)
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a 2 quart saucepan, heat both the broths, rosemary, and thyme until simmering. Keep on low heat so the liquid stays warm throughout the cooking process.

2. While broth is heating, heat the oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots, cook, stirring until mushrooms are softened. Add the rice, cook, stirring until rice is coated with oil.

3. Add the broth to the rice 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until the rice absorbs the liquid. (make the next addition of liquid when you can draw a clear path on the bottom of the pot as you scrape through the rice with a wooden spoon.) This will happen rather quickly at first and then take longer as you near the end of the cooking time.

4. Add parsley when you add the last portion of broth.

Homemade Granola

Years ago when we lived in Florida my sister in law passed along a fabulous recipe for granola. Just like us, she often found the store bought varieties to be too sweet. I had a bowl of her granola and fell in love with it's toasted flavor. This is a hearty granola, full of nuts and seeds as well as good for you oats. A BIG batch can be made in less than 30 minutes and saved in an air tight container for a couple of weeks. I usually half the recipe because it makes so much, but if you are big granola eater go ahead and make the full amount. This granola is good with yogurt or as a dry snack too. You can use which ever nuts and seeds you like, so do not feel as if you must stick to the ones that I chose. Have fun and happy granola making!

5 - 6 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or a little less if you want, but don't skimp too much)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Heat honey and oil for 15 - 30 seconds in the microwave to warm.
Add vanilla to the honey mix and stir.
Pour over oats in a large bowl and stir until combined.
Add nuts and seeds.
Spread mixture onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Let cool then store in an air tight container.