Side dishes

So, I stuck to 3 of my 5 recipes in last weeks meal plan. I didn't get to make the pancakes or the El Diablo Chicken, but I will be definitely getting to the chicken this week.

I can't share the homemade hamburger recipe with you because it is my man's recipe and it is in his head and he does it different each time. I can share that he makes it out of half hamburger and half hot Italian sausage (and a bunch of other yummy ingredients). Growing up, I never liked homemade hamburgers because my father, who is an excellent cook and is now the main cook at their house, loved to make the burgers out of hamburg and onions and he loved to make them thick. He would also cook the hell out them so that they were thick and dry. Then my man came into my life and he made hamburgers that I crave.

Since I can't share that recipe, this blog post will be about 2 side dishes that I made recently.

A side dish that I will share is the Parmesan Spinach Orzo. This recipe was okay. My son loved it. I prefer my Herb and Chesse Orzo recipe instead. If I was to do the Parm orzo again, I would add more garlic and some parsley. Other then that, it was an easy and quick side dish to make and I do LOVE spinach. I don't have a picture because I made it before karate and I was in a rush.

Parmesan and Spinach Orzo

1 cup whole wheat orzo
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced **next time I would use 3**
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. flour
1 cup milk **I used homogonized because that was all that I had**
2/3 cups spinach, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded, plus extra for garnish

Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute or until onions are translucent. Add flour to form a roux and cook for an additional minute.

3. Add about 1/4 cup of the milk to the pot and whisk to work out any lumps from the roux. When lumps are worked out, add the remaining milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce has thickened, about 8 minutes.

4. Add chopped spinach to sauce and cook an additional 2 minutes or until spinach has cooked down. Remove sauce from heat.

5. Stir parmesan cheese into sauce. When cheese has melted, add cooked orzo to sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with extra parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Last weekend we had supper at my in laws and I made Asparagus Gratin. It was pretty good! Everyone seemed to like it. 

Next time I would either add more asparagus or I would use less cheese sauce. I also put the baking dish too close to the broiler element and the cheese got a little too crispy. Oh, and I would add some bacon....mmmmm....bacon....

Ingredients:

2 pounds thin asparagus **not sure how much I had, so I may not have had enough**

3 cups water

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour 

¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated and divided

½ cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Line broiler safe baking dish with paper towels or a lint free kitchen cloth. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and set both stalks and ends aside.
2. Bring water to a boil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus ends and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook covered, for 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove asparagus ends and discard. Add asparagus stalks to skillet, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender,2-4 minutes. Transfer asparagus to paper/cloth-lined baking dish. Pour asparagus water into liquid measuring cup. If liquid does not read 1-cup mark, add water until it does.
3. Melt butter in now empty skillet over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in reserved asparagus water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in ½ cup Parmesan and Monterey jack until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let stand for 5 minuets.
4. Remove paper towels from baking dish. Drizzle sauce over center of asparagus and top with remaining Parmesan. Broil until cheese is golden and asparagus is tender, 4-8 minutes. Serve.