Sunday Cooking - Chicken Mushroom Risotto

Chicken Mushroom Risotto is one of the ultimate comfort foods! It is so creamy and rich and just tastes absolutely amazing! It is super simple to make and is very versatile. 

What you'll need:

Mushrooms (we used button mushrooms, but any mix of mushrooms would work well)

Shredded Chicken (optional - replaceable by bacon)

1 Clove of Garlic

4 Tbsp of Butter (or more)

1 1/2 Cup of Orzo (or arborio rice)

1/2 Cup of White Wine

1 Box of Chicken Broth (about 4 cups)

Parmesan Cheese

Note: You can substitute mushrooms for most raw vegetables (that will fry well), You can also replace chicken with bacon or omit it all together. Feel free to add any left over cooked vegetables at the appropriate time.

Step one: 

Wash and chop mushrooms into pieces slightly smaller than bit sized. Add them to a pan, set on high heat, with two tablespoons of butter to start with (adding more as needed). Grate into the pot one clove of garlic (now would be the time to add any other raw vegetables you'd like - onions for example, also if you are adding raw bacon now would be the time to add that - we only added mushrooms for this recipe). Allow them to cook down, letting the mushrooms release their juices.

Once they have cooked down, add your rice or orzo. Allow this too cook for 5 minutes (again add butter if you need it - to make sure nothing sticks or burns). You will notice now that your rice and vegetable mixture has become creamy thanks to the butter. 

Next, add the white wine, you should notice it will disappear almost immediately. At this point there are two different approaches to making the risotto. You can slowly add 1/2 cup of chicken broth at a time to the mixture, continuing to stir until all the broth has been worked in. Or you can add all the broth at once (this is what we did and will now explain how to do things this way). If you do add the broth 1/2 a cup at aa time continue down to the final directions. 

Once you have added the chicken broth, let the liquid come to a boil. Let it boil for 5-10 minutes until some of the liquid has boiled down. Bring the head down to medium and continue stirring until the liquid has thicken. (You will be able to tell this when you pull your spoon through the risotto and it parts. If liquid fills the line you have made before you can see the bottom of the pan, it is not thick enough.)

Once your risotto is thick you can add to it. Now we added a handful of Parmesan cheese (fresh - if you have powdered you may need more. Add to your liking.) You can also add your chicken now and any other cooked vegetables you like (peas would be a great choice). Mix everything in well and serve - feel free to top with added Parmesan cheese.