Cannellini & Chard Risotto

Cannellini & Chard Risotto

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chard, sliced into thin strips, dice small stems and toss large stems)
2 cans/cups cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 tbsp. mascarpone cheese
1/2 lemon, juice & zest
fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Method
Bring vegetable broth to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onion, garlic and the stems of the chard. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add one cup of the broth, cook and stir, until almost absorbed. Now add chard leaves, cannellini beans and the rest of the broth. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes, then add cheese, lemon juice and thyme. Season with salt, pepper and more thyme if needed. Top it with some grated lemon zest before serving.

Recipe from greenkitchenstories.com
Family grade: B

Crockpot Greek Stew

Crockpot Greek Stew

Ingredients
2 cups cubed butternut squash
2 cups chopped carrots
2 onions, chopped
1 cup chopped zucchini
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
14 oz. can vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
*I substituted parsley
4 cups cooked couscous
1/2 cup crumpled feta cheese

Method
Combine all ingredients except for couscous and cheese in a crockpot and mix well to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until all vegetables are tender. Serve with couscous and sprinkle with cheese.

Family grade: B

Rösti Casserole with Baked Eggs

Rösti Casserole with Baked Eggs

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups fat-free Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups grated peeled turnip (about 8 ounces, 2 small)
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1 (30-ounce) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (such as Ore-Ida)
Cooking spray
8 large eggs
Chopped fresh chives (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine yogurt and flour in a large bowl, stirring well. Add turnip, Gruyère cheese, butter, chives, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and potatoes to yogurt mixture. Spread potato mixture evenly into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, make 8 indentations in top of potato mixture. Crack 1 egg into each of 8 indentations. Return dish to oven. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until egg whites are firm and yolks barely move when pan is touched. Cut into 8 pieces. Garnish with additional chives and black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Recipe from myrecipes.com
Family grade: A

The Versatile Blogger Award

First I’d like to apologize for taking so long to acknowledge this, but I’ve been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by a follower and fellow blogger! Thank you  Travis, aka The Tasty Thumb, for your nomination! The Tasty Thumb’s blog is loaded with delicious recipes, both savory and sweet. If you’d like to check out his blog, then click here  to visit The Tasty Thumb!

The rules of accepting this award are as follows:

1. Thank the award giver and link them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to 15 or 20 bloggers you read and admire.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Linny V Facts:

1. Half of my family is from New York and the other half is from Kentucky, so my accent can be very colorful at times.
2. I have a fear of my fingernails breaking off so I constantly press them down to make sure they’re still attached.
3. My middle name is legally misspelled, and I like it that way.
4. I really wish hoodies were acceptable work attire.
5. I tend to overcomplicate projects to the point that I get overwhelmed and don’t do the project at all (e.g. blog).
6. If I were born a boy my name would’ve been Dillon James. Sounds like a rock star doesn’t it?
7. When I was a kid I had a speech impediment that made me sound German. One of my famous catch phrases was “I vant to see the virevorks”.

The Nominees:

1. Domestic Diva, M.D.
2. Rantings of an Amateur Chef
3. Meatballs and Milkshakes
4. Healthy Slow Cooking
5. Bowl of Recipes
6. The Hungry Irishman
7. Homemade Delish
8. Let’s Spice Things Up in Vegas
9. Unlikely Vegan Family
10. Eat Now Talk Later
11. Le Zoe Musings
12. Foodimentary
13. Commadotcomma.com
14. Geistweg
15. Weelicious

where the hell have I been?

Sorry for my hiatus the past couple months.  After a medical setback and an infant entering toddler-hood, life has gotten in the way.  I hope to return to the wonderful world of blogging very, very soon.

one of those Brilliant! moments

It’s no secret that I love making breakfast for dinner. However, I wanted to let you know of a new trick I’ve discovered for making “breakfast” that much more delicious.

I love hashbrowns, but I’ve always hated cooking them. First off, it’s a pain in the a** to peel and grate the potatoes, so I just buy them frozen pre-shredded. And then you get them all in the pan and try to brown them evenly, but they never do, so you add so much oil to get them to fry that they come out a greasy, limpy mess. And you try to fix that by baking them in the oven (that you didn’t pre-heat) to get them to crisp up a little. And by the time you’ve done all of this, two hours have gone by and you’re snapping at your husband because you’re angry and hungry.    Sound familiar?

Well, put all that behind you because I have the solution!

Two words: waffle iron.  Turn your waffle iron on (I had mine on high), spray it with some cooking spray or grease it with butter, add some shredded potatoes, and cook for about 8-10 minutes until potatoes begin to brown.  The potatoes cook evenly and aren’t greasy. Brilliant!

the post you’ve been waiting for – guiltless chocolate cake

In my last blog post, I mentioned a recipe my girlfriend wanted to try for a chocolate cake that was half the calories of the traditional cake from the box.  It was a recipe she had found on Pinterest and we were both excited to try it out.

I am about to blow your mind.

How can you make a “healthy” chocolate cake and have it taste just as good – if not better – than the full calorie version?  It’s much easier than you think.

No, it’s not made entirely of Splenda.
No, it’s not filled with air.
The secret is…are you ready?
Greek yogurt!

Ingredients
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup of water
1 cup of Greek yogurt.

Method
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Bake that s***!

I’ll admit, I was skeptical about this turning out any good. The cake turned out beautiful and moist and better than any straight from the box cake I’ve ever had. Forget eggs and milk – I’m using Greek yogurt from now on!  And do you know the best part? Since there’s no worry of salmonella poisoning, you can lick all the spoons you want!

And compare the 180 calorie per slice yogurt version to the 260 calorie prepared-per-box-directions version. Come on!

When my friend left all the leftovers for me, I didn’t protest. My husband and I ate on this cake for a few days – and I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.