Caprese Salad

We have a lot to be grateful for. One of the things was my daughter fell off of an ATV this weekend and got a concussion. We are so grateful for prayers and that she is doing well. She is sore but doing well.  We heard of a not so good outcome of someone else this weekend in an ATV crash. Life is so fragile. You need to love those around you every day.

 The garden has been very good to us this year. We always seem to be able to grow tomatoes the best. This year we have a bumper crop. I need to make some yummy spaghetti sauce with them. We have been enjoying salsa with them too. One of our favorite things to eat. I have always thought Caprese salads looked so pretty. I thought it would be a perfect time to make it with all the tomatoes. We really enjoyed eating it yesterday. It is so easy it also makes me feel European.  Some day I will go there. :)

Ingredients

5-6 sliced roma tomatoes
1 lb roll of mozzarella cheese sliced
handful of basil leaves
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions  serves 8

1. Arrange the sliced tomatoes, cheese and basil on the plate.
2. In a small saucepan pour in the vinegar and stir in honey. Place on medium low heat.
3. Stir and let it reduce and thicken for a couple minutes.
4. Drizzle vinegar mixture over the salad.
5. Then drizzle over the oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Enjoy!

Whole Grain Sweet Brown Rice Risotto (Quick)

I have seen recipes for Risotto, but never tried it. Last night I decided to give it a try whole grain style. The key to Risotto is using a short grain rice. The short grains are starchy and stick together better. So I had some Sweet Brown Rice, that is short grain that worked great. I loved the creaminess of it. It is not what you normally get when you are eating rice unless you are eating rice pudding. I knew it was a success when family members were going for seconds. :) It was a hit! The fun thing is you could do lots of different variations. You could change around the spices, meat, and cheese. It is also a way to incorporate some of the herbs I have talked about the last couple days. It was an easy meal. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

2 C sweet Brown (needs to be a short grain)
4 C water or Chicken Stock
1 T thyme
2 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2-2 C mozzarella cheese shredded
2 eggs beaten
2 T fresh Parmesan cheese grated
1 can of chicken breast drained or meat of your choice
2 C frozen stir fry vegetables (Great way to have the family vegetables)
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 C cut up fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese for on top
crushed red pepper * optional


Directions:

1. Cook Brown Rice with thyme and liquid. In rice cooker, pressure cooker, or on the stove. (I used the pressure cooker for 17 min on high pressure and let it sit a couple minutes when the timer went off. There was a small amount of moisture on the top. When I opened it. I just stirred in the water to the rice.)

2. Stir in the garlic, cheese, eggs, vegetables, chicken, salt and pepper. Turn on to low, cover pan and let sit 3-4 min. Take off the lid and stir again.

3. Stir in the parsley. Grate some cheese on top and serve.

*You could have a crushed red pepper shaker on the table if anyone wants to add a little more spice to it. I liked it. The red pepper tastes great on pizza too. I think I may put a shaker on the table more often, to incorporate red peppers into our diet more.