One Pot Chicken Risotto
This past Sunday morning, I had been getting my pin'ing on on Pinterest and remembered that I had pinned this hearty (and easy) looking meal. Anything that has "one pot" in its title will catch my attention any day. Not that I'm the big cook in the house, but if it makes it easier to make a meal, then I'm pretty sure Steve is down with it too. And with Cora, it's harder and harder to make elaborate meals so when we come across a recipe that looks yummy and only requires one pot, well we're pretty much sold.

And this recipe was no exception. Now, I know what you're thinking. Risotto is time-consuming and takes forever. Well, I won't lie. The part about stirring was really annoying and took longer than expected. I had started to make this oh, maybe 45 minutes before Cora's bedtime routine thinking that I would be done in time to get her in bed with a bath beforehand. I was wrong. Totally wrong. Not only did Steve have to give Cora a bath without me, but I had to use chicken stock because I used up all of the beef stock I had for the recipe.

BUT it was all worth it. It was such a perfect meal for the start of Fall and for viewing the Emmy's. And it made a ton - Cora and I were able to eat the leftovers for lunch the next day and we still have more left! And the part in the recipe where it says 'just toss and stir!' is absolutely true. Everything went in the pot and tasted like you did so much more work than just that. See for yourself how easy the steps are below!

One Pot Chicken Risotto *Recipe by Sweet C's Designs

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, diced to 1" cubes, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, bunch of asparagus, or other veg, diced
2 1/2 cups arborrio rice
2 packages beef stock, lower sodium is best (2x 14 oz box- you may use less or have to add additional broth or water to cook to your preferred rice texture.)
3 tbsp butter
olive oil
salt
pepper
frozen peas- 1/4 cup
dry vermouth, optional- 1/2 cup (I didn't add this and it still tasted great!)
1 cup water
Parmesan Cheese, optional

Instructions

1. Heat a large pan or ceramic dutch oven over high heat.
2. Add 1 tbsp olive oil.
3. When oil is shimmery, add diced chicken.
4. Cook until browned on all sides.
5. Add diced vegetables.
6. When vegetables are slightly browned, add butter and stir.
7. Lower heat to medium-low, add rice, stir well.
8. Let the rice brown just slightly (think "toasted" for a little flavor)
9. Add a little bit of stock and vermouth (optional!!)- just enough to keep the consistency liquid.
10. Stir frequently until rice thickens.
11. Add a little more stock until it is just barely liquid. Repeat stirring frequently until thickened and adding just enough stock to keep it from burning or becoming too thick.
12. Realistically, using a regular sized container of stock, you'll use it in about 6ths or 8ths.
13. When your stock is gone, and the risotto has become thicker, taste a bit of it.
14. If the rice is too crunchy for your taste, add a little water and proceed with the steps above. Risotto should be slightly al dente- just a slight, teeny crunch when bit. If you over cook the rice, it will become a bit gummy- but its all individual tastes.
15. Add frozen peas, at the end along with the last addition of stock so they thaw and cook just briefly.
16. When risotto is thick enough to not spread all over a plate, but not so thick you can shape it like mashed potatoes, it is ready.
17. Serve when warm.
18. Grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top and enjoy!

And I'll have the recipe for that Apple Bundt Cake tomorrow so come back to check it out!



My mise en place all ready to go.

I forgot to take a picture of the browned chicken (sorry!), so what you see here is the browned chicken along with the just-added vegetables.

After the veggies are browned, then add the arborio rice.

And after lots and lots of stock and stirring (your arms are getting the workout of a lifetime), you get yummy risotto!

My favorite part is the grated parmesan that goes on top. So yummy!