Sausage Risotto with Mustard Greens

As soon as I saw this recipe on Liz's Cooking Blog, I knew we needed to make it before it got too warm outside. I've been meaning to make risotto again all winter but never got around to it. This seemed perfect in that it's (to me at least) a whole meal, with sausage and greens mixed in.

As with all risotto recipes, it's a bit of an involved process, but it wasn't too difficult.

Getting everything ready because once you start risotto, you can't really stop the stirring!


After dumping in the first of the broth


Pretty mustard greens

This was DELICIOUS. We both loved it! I love mustard greens - they hold up well after cooking and don't become mushy like spinach and they've got great flavor. I will be on the lookout for more recipes using them in the future!

Old friends and brownies!

On Saturday night, my good friend Marianne invited me and our other high school girlfriends that are left living in the Twin Cities area over for dinner. Due to all of our crazy schedules, only Kelly and I were able to make it and we had a great time! Marianne and I met on the first day of 1st grade when we wore matching outfits - a pink skirt and a pink and white striped top. Which means (as she just informed me) that we have been friends for OVER 20 YEARS. Wow!

Marianne and Kelly


Marianne even busted out the china for the occasion! Delicious meal - apricot cashew chicken over couscous and roasted asparagus that reminded me of the delicious asparagus at Sample Room!

Now on to my contribution. I had previously promised to bring dessert, and of course had grand plans to make something elaborate. As you saw in the previous post, I went to the zoo on Saturday and was completely wiped out. For a long while I contemplated just buying one of those half cheesecakes/pies/cakes at Kowalski's and calling it a day. Then it was an internal battle of what was more of a pain - going out and buying something, or just making something at home that was fairly easy. I had recently starred this recipe for classic brownies (claiming to be the best I'll ever eat, no less!) from Sing for Your Supper. When I realized I had all the ingredients at home, I figured it was fate :)

These were VERY easy and really WERE the best brownies ever! Yum! I just had another one and they are still great. If you are a brownie fan, definitely try this recipe.

At Marianne's right after cutting


Today out of the fridge! Still lookin good :)

The Zoo!

Last week, my mom emailed me and asked if I wanted to go to the Minnesota Zoo with her on Saturday. I didn't have anything else going on and the weather was supposed to be pretty nice, so I said yes! Liz joined us. Now, if only we could have convinced my dad to go! Alas, he had to do "yard work".

Despite growing up approximately one mile from the Minnesota Zoo, I hadn't been there since I went for a 10th grade biology class trip. It's a pretty nice zoo, as zoos go. There were a great many children and strollers there last Saturday. I was utterly and completely exhausted by the time we left and I was just watching after myself, I can't even imagine being there with multiple demanding children in tow. Yikes.

Lots of options


Timer shot!


First stop, the Tiger Lair. Very similar to the Whopper Lair.


RAR! Super ferocious.


The first of many of these types of pics


The Farm, to see the babies (the reason for this visit)


This is Lantz 2, a cloned Holstein bull who, according to the sign, has his semen shipped worldwide and has fathered over 3,000 calves. Neat!




This child was really into it


A few babies






Learning to share






Horses coming in from the distance


This one needed a good scratch


Just chowing down


Cute bear


Fighting with his cute bear friend










Mullet!!!!!


Eagle with a broken wing, looking right at me in a freaky way


Kind of sad, except this one wouldn't be able to survive in the wild


A cute and cuddly Lynx.


One last weird pic of Liz

The end!

A walk, and an easy meal

Wow, I am getting behind on blogging. It has been such a busy few weeks, and it's hard to want to sit inside on the computer when it's getting so nice outside! Plus I have a habit of scheduling something for myself most nights of the week...

Ben and I took a walk around our neighborhood last Saturday - he smoked a cigar, and I took photos! It's so nice to get to be outside again.

Preparing for the walk.


Soon these will be blooming with beautiful lilacs!

I don't even remember when we ate this - I think it was not last week but the week before, but I wanted to make sure to share before I forgot! This is another gem from Liz's Cooking Blog - Indian Chickpeas and Spinach in a Tomato Cream Sauce. Yum! So easy and healthy, and delicious given the addition of a little cream to the sauce :) We used fresh baby spinach and probably should have chopped it up more, but it was fine. We also used dried chickpeas that we prepared the night before. Great for a weeknight meal, and the leftovers are good too!