SORRY for the last 13 hours of NO Zesty.  My hosting account was suspended due to excessive usage!!!  GRRR anyway we are backup and running and I have a post for you.

Happy Wednesday to you!

Before we get on to the most exciting part of your day ( I mean you reading this post) let me mention that Blake from Blake Makes is doing something really cool today.  He is hosting a giveaway but guess what, the giveaway is for a chance to win Zesty’s Blog makeover.  How cool is that?  So everyone that votes enters over at Blake makes will also be entered into the blog makeover contest.  As i write this post, we are so close to getting 200 comments – not too mention all the blog mentions and tweets.  When all is said and done we will be well over 300 entries… so exciting.

On to the Food

What do you get when you have one piece of boneless chicken left, a cup of Jasmine rice, a head of broccoli on it’s last leg, a carrot and one can of Wolfgang Puck’s Organic Vegetable soup on hand?

I give you Zesty’s All in the Pot Goulash.  It tasted quite good actually.  It was not something I h ave ever whipped up before I can honestly admit that.  I used the soup as a sauce almost and added it early after the carrot and chicken sauteed so that it would reduce and thicken without the lid.  It worked like a charm.  I cooked the rice separately to avoid to much complication with measurements and liquid balance ratios.

In the end you have something that looks like this…

Ingredients

• 1 Carrot ( chopped)
• 1 Chicken Breast
• 1 Cup rice
• 1 Head of broccoli
• 1 Can of Wolfgang Puck’s Organic Vegetable soup
• 1/2 can of water
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 Tsp. red pepper flakes
• Dash of chili powder

Method

1. Preheat pot to medium heat; add olive oil.
2. Toss in carrot, garlic and chicken and let brown about 5-7 minutes
3. Cook rice in a separate pot according to directions
4. Add soup, water, chili powder and red pepper flakes; let simmer for 10 minutes while rice cooks.
5. Toss in broccoli for final 3 minutes; add salt and pepper
6. Once rice is cooked, add rice to the mixture and stir.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Keep the heat up to medium when you add the soup and the lid off.  This will allow the soup to thicken.  Add your seasonings once the soup has been added.  Do note, add whatever flavors you like…. curry would work well in here as well.

Again – sorry for the delay in posting and all the hiccups I have caused.  Hopefully the issue is solved and we can move on as per usual.  Have a great Wednesday and don’t forget to enter in the makeover.  The final day is Friday.

Take care

zesty

Let’s chalk up yesterday to just a crazy day that I do not want repeated.  Work was absolutely insane with people upset, deadlines approaching, phones a ringin’ and software not working.  But hey – It’s not the end of the world so just keep smiling and plug away.  Now onto something that automatically makes me smile.  Risotto!

Well do I have a post for you today!  I mean totally sink your teeth in recipe.  Comfort screaming out loud!  You are going to love this post.  If you don’t love this post – then you either do not like Maple, Butternut Squash and Risotto or you may simply not like me rambling on about it.

Regardless of the answer here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 6 Cups chicken broth
• ¼ Cup sherry
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Small onion finely chopped
• ½ Butternut squash diced
• 2 Cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tsp. rosemary
• 3 Tbsp. wine vinegar
• 1 ½ Cups Arborio rice
• ½ Cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarse salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Method

1. Heat broth and sherry until simmering.
2. Cook squash and onion, until onions soft, about 7 minutes seasoning with salt and pepper.
3. Add garlic, maple syrup  rosemary,  and vinegar and cook 2-3 min further till all well blended.
4. Squash should be soft but intact.
5. Add rice and stir to coat and then add first cup of broth mixture, stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed.



6. The broth must be hot when adding to the rice. As broth dissolves add more until rice done, about 30 minutes.





7. Rice will be plump and slightly firm to the bite.



8. ENJOY

Zesty Tip: Don’t sweat the risotto – it is not as hard as you think.  Just follow these simple instructions and you can pull it off.

Last night was a bit of a hodge podge night with just a bit of lazing around and some TV watching.  Does anybody watch American Idol? I tuned in for a bit last night for a little laugh.  I feel I could be doing so much around the house getting it set up but for some reason the couch continues to call my name.

Hope you have a great Wednesday.  The kitchen people and carpenters are coming this morning to do some fixes and the flooring guys are coming back on Friday to take a look at some blemishes.

Take care

zesty