Bacon, Leeks and Pasta

Yuuuuuummy.

Whenever I buy an ingredient that I'm not QUITE sure how to use... I always go to Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman's) cooking blog. I LOVE her recipes. I desperately want the time and energy to make her cinnamon rolls.

Anyway. I digress.

So, I bought Leeks yesterday at the store, got home and went... "Mmmmhmm...so... how do I fix these?" So I went to her site and found THIS recipe.

Great! Except I didn't have pancetta. Or cream. Or white wine.

NO MATTER! I created my own recipe!

You will need:
1-2 Leeks
Bacon
Buter (honestly, can I make anything without it?)
Garlic
Parmesan Cheese
Pasta (I used fettuccine)
Reserved Pasta water

Cut the bacon up into little pieces, and begin frying it. No oil needed. Begin chopping the leeks. Use the white to light green parts, and I just sliced it up, then separated the rounds. Chop 1 clove (or more if you want it), of garlic.

Add garlic and leeks to the pan once the bacon is browned slightly. Begin cooking your pasta. Add salt and pepper to the leek mixture (easy on the salt....bacon + parmesan cheese means you won't need a lot). Continue cooking leeks and bacon on low until the pasta is done (and the leeks are softened). Add pasta, 1-2 handfuls of shredded parmesan cheese, about 3 tablespoons of butter. Mix well. Add a little bit of the pasta water to thin out the sauce if needed.

Top with Parmesan cheese shavings (which you make with a veggie peeler and a block of Parm).

ENJOY.

Shaina's Superb Sal-lad

Okay, you have to be a Spongebob fan to get that title.

You need:
1-2 handfuls baby spinach (this depends on how much you want to eat)
1-2 handfuls of coleslaw mix that is NOT dressed (so, cabbage and carrots basically)
10-12 baby carrots
1 handful of broccoli
2 tablespoons dressing of your choice
1 handful of Shaina's secret croutons.

I take the baby spinach and the coleslaw mix and toss it in a small mixing bowl. Then I take the broccoli and pull it apart so that you don't get any BIG bites of it, but get a little bit in each bite. I slice up the baby carrots in very small bites as well. I toss all of this, and then toss 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing into it as well. I top it with my secret ingredient.

My husband LOVES Snyder's brand Hot Wing's flavored pretzels. I don't like them by themselves, but good HEAVENS they are good on a salad! They come in little bite sized pieces, but they aren't really uniform in size... so one bite you'll get a little flavor, and the next you'll get a huge bite. Plus, where they're pretzels, they're actually better for you than croutons! And, I think they have a much better flavor as well!

So there you have, Shaina's Superb Sal-lad. I promise, it's mouth watering! I call it my rabbit food lunch! haha!

Risotto

I can't make rice. I fully acknowledge this. It turns out crunchy EVERY SINGLE TIME. I can, however, make risotto without screwing it up!

For this recipe, you need a special kind of rice called Arborio. It's a short grain rice (instead of the more traditional long grain). I had trouble finding it in our small town, but if you live around a Kroger or something, you may be more successful (I think most Super Wal-Marts carry it now as well).

This serves 2 people as a main course. Double amounts to serve four(as a main course), or use this to serve 4 as a side.

1/2 a large onion (I used vidalia), finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2/3 cup of arborio rice
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of water (empty the broth, fill the can back up with water, then add it to the broth)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese
cooked chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Add your chicken stock/broth to a small sauce pan and keep warm.

I start off with the butter and olive oil in the pan, then I add in the onion and saute until soft (3-4 minutes). Then I add in the garlic, rosemary and rice, and saute until the rice is just starting to brown a LITTLE (this adds nuttiness). Then I begin ladling in the warm liquids. You ladle in a ladle or two, and then stir that until all of the liquid is absorbed. Repeat. A lot. It takes around 22 minutes.

While it's cooking, and I'm stirring, I usually brown some chicken in a separate skillet, and then shred it once its fully cooked.

Once you have incorporated all the liquid into the rice, pull out the large rosemary sprig, the big pieces of garlic, and add in the Parmesan cheese. If you like Parmesan, add a lot, if you're not crazy about it, add a little. DO NOT SALT until this point. Taste it, and then if it needs salt, add it. I highly, HIGHLY recommend a low sodium chicken broth.

Add in the chicken, stir to incorporate, and add pepper as necessary. Super easy, creamy, and totally yummy!