**Roxpup**

doremi29

Okay, I'm jealous, can you PM me the recipe for your risotto?  Or put it right in this post- either way works for me ;-)

Roxpup

you got it... it's SOOO GOOD... 

 

Risotto with Basil and Chicken (or turkey, although i've never done it with turkey)
1 cup arborio rice3 cloves of garlic4 cups of low sodium chicken broth 3 cups of cooked chicken/turkey, cut into bite size cubes/pieces6 tablespoons butter, divided into 3 sections of 2 tablespoons each1 cup parmesean cheese1/2 cup basil (you can do less if you aren't a huge fan, or stir it in slowly until you think it's yummy)
Put the arborio rice, two tablespoons of butter and 3 cups of the chicken broth into a microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap, microwave for 15-20 minutes.
Press the garlic (more or less to taste, 3 is a bit much, I think the actual recipe calls for only two) into a pot and add two tablespoons of butter.  Turn on and melt butter and stir so the garlic doesn't burn, once the garlic is fragrant (less than a minute usually), add the rice mixture from the microwave... then add the extra cup of broth.  Simmer until the rice is almost tender, usually about 7-8 minutes (the rice starts to look clear on the side, then taste one to see if it's tender, the more tender the rice, the creamier the risotto.)   Add the chicken and cook until heated, usually about a minute.
Remove from heat, add 2 more tablespoons of butter, basil, and parmesean cheese, mix well and serve hot.  

Tonight, since i'm on weight watchers, I didn't use any butter, just pam for the pan with garlic, and I only used half the amount of parmesean cheese.  It was really yummy still, but the origional way is delicious.  We were already having a main dish (my dad and DH had steaks and I had chicken) so I didn't add any chicken either... it added to the cook time to cook down the extra broth but it was well worth it.

If the rice is somehow not cooked all the way through by the time the chicken is to be added, add some water to the pan and cook the water down til the rice is good, the key to risotto is creamy, well done rice.  Good luck  

 

 

You can also skip the chicken if you want to use it more of a side dish, you can get a ready made chicken roaster from the grocery store if you want and just use that, or leftovers, which is nice also  

doremi29

Thank you!!!  Sounds great and I think I have all the ingredients at home already- so even better :-)

LaurelBee

::butting in::