Whatcha Makin Wednesdays

 Welcome to Whatcha Makin? Wednesdays

Every week I will hopefully try out a  NEW recipe.   This in part is my idea which I got from the movie Julie & Julia! Did anyone watch it and want to start baking all sorts of delicious things? I did.. So I'm going to show you my disasters or masterpieces!

This past week I tried 2 new recipes! And as much as I would love full rein over our meal planning I always feel I need to ask what he wants for dinner, so that I'm not feeding only my cravings.  That's fair right? Well lately he's just been saying just make whatever! 

Okay if you say so! He's normally not a fan of chicken breast but that's about all I have left in our freezer other than wild game and a heaping mound of chicken wings. 

Chicken and Asparagus Roudales from KitchenDaily.com

Asparagus Risotto from AllRecipes.com

 

Don't mind that long piece of cheese across the plate and Dustin's crazy mound of butter on already buttered bread...

The Chicken and Asparagus Roudales were super easy to make just pound some chicken breast out slap on some swiss cheese and roll them up, brown them and bake em!

 

The Asparagus Risotto was alittle harder and took alot of time standing up.  Which I like to leave things sit, relax and sip some wine before I have to get up an stir things again.

But overall I would defantely make these again.  He found it funny I made risotto because he thought it tasted great he's never had it before.  But we are fans of Hell's Kitchen and he remembered that Gordon Ramsey always serves Risotto with his meals and reams the chefs if they don't cook it right.  Luckily he's no Gordon Ramsey because who knows how wrong or right it was but it sure was tasty!

Here's the recipes:
Chicken and Asparagus Roulades

Ingredients

• 1 1/4-lb pkg thin-sliced boneless chicken breasts
• 12 thin sandwich-sized slices Swiss cheese (from an 8-oz pkg)
• 1 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off; spears simmered in salted water until tender, then cooled ***I actually forgot to cook them at all but I ended up baking them for about 20 mins and the asparagus turned out just fine.***

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Place 1 slice chicken on each of 4 sheets of plastic wrap. Cut extra chicken in pieces; place, overlapping, on slices so each is about equal size. Cover with plastic wrap; pound to fuse pieces to slices and until evenly thick. Uncover; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Top each with 3 slices cheese to 1/2 in. of edge. Place 1/4 the asparagus at narrower end. Tightly roll up; secure with a wooden pick. Roll roulades in 1 1/2 Tbsp flour.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add roulades; brown on all sides. Place on baking sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Carefully remove picks and slice.

Risotto with Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 7 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cups uncooked Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place asparagus in a large saucepan; add 1/2 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and maintain at a simmer. In a large heavy skillet, cook onion in oil over medium heat until tender. Add rice and stir to coat well; cook 3 minutes longer. Add wine and cook until absorbed.
3. Stir in 1 cup simmering broth. Cook until broth is almost completely absorbed, stirring frequently, then add another cup of simmering broth. Repeat until only about 1/4 cup of broth remains (discard remaining broth); the process should take about 20 minutes. Rice should be slightly firm in center and look creamy.
4. Add asparagus; heat through. Remove from the heat; add the butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.