Ham & Pineapple Bake

This is another one of those Bisquick recipes. I liked it a lot and it was wicked easy.

1 1/2 c chopped ham
1 c well drained pineapple chunks
4 chopped green onions

Sprinkle these in the bottom of a greased pie plate (I use a pretty big one, it might even make two small ones. Next time I'm going to try using my 4 large ramekins to make individual ones.)

Mix together in a bowl:
1 c Bisquick
1 c milk
2 eggs
2 t mustard (I suppose you could use dijon or something but I used yellow ballpark and it was yummy)
Pour this over the ham and bake for 20-25 @ 400C or till you get a clean knife from the centre.

Sprinkle 1 cup of grated cheddar (I used old cheddar) over the top and put it back in for another 4 minutes. Oh yeah, 6 servings.

Okay Erin, your turn!

Jody, You'll Like This

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

I cried with laughter.

Chicken-y Mushroom Risotto

On Friday, I tried cooking real risotto for the first time (not the quick 'N easy version I did earlier). While there are a few things I'll change next time, it turned out quite nicely.

2 cups Arborio rice
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
Some mushrooms
Some olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
4 cans of Campbell's condensed chicken broth.
Shredded Parmesan cheese (I'm not sure how much; I just used up the cheese that I had -- probably 3/4 of a cup or so.)

1. Cook the chopped onion and mushrooms in some olive oil, until caramelized.
2. Heat chicken broth until warm, while completely not realizing that you are supposed to dilute condensed chicken broth with an equal amount of water.
3. Remove onion and mushroom and set aside.
4. Cook rice in the leftover olive oil over medium heat, for about 20 minutes.
5. First, add wine and then gradually add chicken broth about a cup at a time, while stirring.
6. Add mushroom and onion and stir at the very end.
7. Turn off the heat and add the Parmesan Cheese.
8. Sit risotto aside for five minutes. After all the stirring, you can sit aside for five minutes too, if you'd like.

It was very good, though I wondered why I couldn't taste the wine. That's probably because the undiluted chicken broth completely overwhelmed the wine. The chicken flavor was a bit strong, but I didn't really mind. Next time, I'll add water to the broth.

Also, my mushroom-rice ratio was a bit low. I used only about half a container, not realizing that the rice would expand when cooked. Next time, more mushrooms and possibly even some chicken sausage.

Strangely, my back was actually a little sore after cooking this. It was hard work stirring for twenty minutes. Apparently, my stirring muscles are just a little out of practice. My eating muscles are doing just fine, though.

Old Tools

Why We Love Cheap Kitchen Tools

I laughed while I read it and thought about my mom's Tupperware bowls (one with lid and one without) that are stacked with my newer bowls. The one that's missing the lid has hot burner marks on the bottom and is deep with steep sides. It's my go-to bowl and I think of her when I use it.

What do you have in your cupboard just like it?

K,J