thank you Olive Garden

feel the need to post some cuteness:

moving on.....

i went to visit my bestest friend Danea in CA and we met our friend Missy for dinner at Olive Garden. i had this dish there and loved it. then when i got home this recipe dropped in my lap...i didn't go looking for it. i was so excited! so, here is my recipe of the week.

Risotto with Chicken and Asparagus
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 (5 ounce) skinless, boneless
chicken breast halves - cubed
2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
1/2 large onion, minced
1 cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
8 ounces asparagus, finely
chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated
Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1.
Bring chicken stock to a boil in a small saucepan, then keep warm over low heat.
2.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the cubed chicken, and continue cooking until firm and lightly browned; set aside.
3.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in the saucepan and cook onions until they soften and turn translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in the rice, and continue cooking until the rice turns opaque, and the onion begins to brown.
4.
Stir in the wine and asparagus; cook, stirring constantly, until the wine evaporates. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in 1/3 of the hot chicken stock. Cook, stirring constantly, until all of the liquid has been absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes.
5.
Stir in another 1/3 of the chicken stock and continue cooking and stirring until absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes. Season the risotto with oregano and basil. Pour in the remaining stock, and stir until absorbed again, 8 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the Parmesan cheese and chicken cubes.

well, i ordered all of my pictures for the Karen Russell class that i am taking in a couple weeks. i went to scrapbookpictures.com and uploaded the pictures that i wanted to use and then cropped them, added a white border, and changed them to black and white. i needed six 5x7 photos, sixteen 4x6 photos, and six to twelve wallets sized photos. i was frustrated because some of the pictures i have saved on my computer are cropped already and large enough to get good prints of other than maybe a 4x6. i wasn't saving the original sized photo as well. i know better now. funny how learning more can be frustrating as well. i ordered in doubles so it will be fun to have those black & white photos with white borders to scrap myself since this class makes a 5x7 chipboard album that has an easel so it is displayed.

peace out.