Heading (Further) Down South

Well it has been a long time coming, but now that I have put in my two weeks notice at work, it is a definite!

M and I will be moving to Charleston, SC at the end of July and we couldn't be more excited. I have been adding some Charleston food blogs to my blog roll just so that I can get acclimated to the foodie culture in the lowcountry, and I must say that I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.

First of all, there is definitely no shortage of seafood restaurants down there, which makes me giddy! There are not so many in this area, so I'm pretty stoked about that. Plus, the Charleston Culinary Institute is down there and from what I hear has a pretty good program. I might enroll in some night classes so I can actually learn a few things!

Our apartment is great, and while smaller than what we are used to now, its a bit cheaper and our balcony overlooks the harbor and the Charleston Yacht Club! One drawback though is that the kitchen (gasp!) is a bit smaller than the one here and doesn't have a dishwasher...

So yeah, going to have to get used to that. But I can make it work! Once we get down there I will post pics of everything!

In the meantime, later today I'm going to post pictures of Dorie's Coffee Break Muffins that I made yesterday morning...so good!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday! :)

Creamy Vegetable Risotto with Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. arborio rice
• 4 cups heated stock (I used low sodium chicken)
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped zucchini
• 1 chopped squash
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
  
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes (or other small tomatoes), halved
• 1/8 cup dry white wine
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• three chicken breasts
• Moroccan Spice mix
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and place chicken breasts into dish. Drizzle with olive oil to coat. Rub Moroccan spices onto both sides of the chicken generously and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until done.

If preferred, you could also cook this chicken in a heated skillet with some olive oil, although baking is a bit more healthy!

While the chicken is baking, prepare veggies and then start with risotto about 10 minutes into chicken baking time. Risotto should only take 18 to 20 minutes so keep that in mind.

Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil on medium in a large pot, cook onions until translucent. Pour in other hard veggies, such as zucchini and squash, and cook until golden.

















Stir in rice and coat with oil until translucent. Add carrots. Pour in wine and cook until evaporated. Pour in one cup of heated stock at a time, and let simmer until absorbed. Add tomatoes at this point, you don't want them to cook too long or they will get mushy!


















Continue adding stock until you have used all four cups and rice has cooked about 18 to 20 minutes.When all liquid is absorbed, add in cream and cheese and stir. Take off heat and let sit covered for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.



















The KBo Conclusion:
I set out to make a risotto dish last night, and followed slightly the rice cooking directions on the back of the box. You can add any vegetables you might like, I just used what I had on hand. I also think this would be great (and a bit healthier) without the cream and parmesan cheese. I tasted mine before I added these two ingredients and it was very, very good.

The chicken was great with the Moroccan seasoning and it was pretty easy to fix. I bought my spices already mixed, but I have seen a Moroccan spice mixture here that you can whip up yourself. In fact, I bought the spice mix to make Kayln's Crispy Moroccan Chickpeas the other night and they were delicious!

KBo's Essential (read: EASY) Banana Pudding

I'm pretty sure that every American can at least make banana pudding...the ones who can't, I'm assuming, are also the poor souls who cannot boil water.

I'm sure there are better, fancier, tastier recipes for this but I really just love what's easy and good.

Ingredients:
2 packets of instant JELLO Vanilla Pudding
6 cups milk (I used skim)
4 organic bananas, sliced (more or less)
1 package Trader Joe's Ultimate Vanilla Wafers
Cool Whip (I used the new kind, in a can!)

Prepare the pudding packets as instructed in a large bowl, (whisk pudding with milk for a few minutes until all combined and then let stand until thick).

In a large bowl, preferably glass so you can show off the layers, start by layering the 'nilla wafers at the bottom of the bowl. Then add a layer of pudding, then a layer of bananas, then a layer of Cool Whip. Repeat until you use all ingredients, or you get to the top of the bowl, whichever comes first. :)

Enjoy!

The KBo Conclusion
I was planning on making this last night because M's parents were coming into town yesterday through to the weekend. I had a whole menu planned, and even had a chicken cooking in the crock pot yesterday morning (If you know me, you know that doing things ahead of time is not usually my forte--and I'm not even going to try to lie here, M had to put the chicken in after I was already at work because I forgot to thaw it the night before...thus entrapping the gizzard packet inside the frozen chicken). But when a family emergency forced the 'rents to turn around mid-trip, we had a crap load of food to cook (and an immaculately clean apartment, thanks M) so I went ahead and made the dessert anyways.

So when I stopped at the store on my lunch break yesterday to get the pudding, I was debating whether or not to actually follow a fancy recipe, such as this one, or just make it the easy way to save time....when I saw "cook and serve" on those JELLO packs, I said NOPE...and picked up the two instant packs.

I know, I know...food blogging is supposed to be about creating, cooking, baking new things. But whatever, we're not all Martha Stewart and everyone knows that this classic is a classic for a reason--It tastes good! So there you have it.

Although, I will say I did put a spin on this by using the Trader Joe's wafers, this was an excellent choice! These are 'ultimate' for a reason, they're packed with vanilla beans and offer a crisp, sweet flavor that Nilla Wafers just can't promise! Pick some up today, you won't be sorry :)