Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Ooh, Risotto, Risotto, Risotto!

The Schwan man is coming out today, so I was compiling my "shopping" list for when he gets here (plus, my mom wanted me to get a few things for this weekend).  Anyone who knows me knows that I hate cooking and I avoid it if at all possible.  It's not like I can't cook or that I won't cook, there are just other things I'd like to do with my time (and all that work for something that's going to be gone in 30 minutes anyway?  No thank you).  I usually just buy things that I can heat up in the microwave in two minutes and life is great.

However, I've decided that I'm sick of just eating microwave corn dogs and I'd like some variety in my diet.  I was checking out the pasta section of the Schwan catalog to see if there was something relatively affordable that I could cook, eat and save leftovers from (leftovers = WIN).  I happened upon a risotto and peas.  I almost bought it, but it's too expensive (like a lot of things Schwan sells).  So, I started searching for risotto recipes because it looked like some relatively easy I could make (and I am insanely curious about risotto - for reasons yet unknown.. Yes, reasons completely unknown.  I dare you to click that link.  Go on - do it!)

Ha ha ha.  And again I say, ha.  Twenty-plus minutes of standing over a pot of boiling rice is not my idea of a fun time.  I was about to abandon my search for a decent risotto recipe that didn't force me to slave over a hot stove when I found this little gem.  Anything that has "microwave" in the title must be promising.

But then I look at the ingredients list - like the Oatmeal says, every recipe I've tried to make at home requires that I go out and buy a boatload of crap that I'm only ever going to use for this one recipe (I think I still have spices from my freshman year of college in a box somewhere.  Yes, I probably ought to throw those out - but it seems such a waste.  And yet... I'm still not using them.  Betty Crocker I am not).

However, this recipe has things that I actually do buy - at least, one of the substitutions says that I can replace the white wine with white grape juice or apple juice and I have been known to buy both.  And who doesn't have butter or margarine in their fridge?  The only thing I wonder about would be that you have to use a certain kind of rice... and I just buy whatever rice is at the store.

... or I'll just buy another box of frozen corn dogs.  sigh... what I wouldn't give for a decent Chinese place somewhere close...

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