Bready or Not: Rice Cooker Risotto
No fooling here. I’m sharing a real recipe for Rice Cooker Risotto that will rock your world if you make risotto but hate the tedious stir-stir-stir nature of the usual version.
I have a more traditional take on risotto on Bready or Not, one that uses pancetta. I will never make this old version again.
The rice cooker is the way to go. Instead of being stuck at the stove for about an hour, babysitting a pot and stirring a lot, I get to add ingredients in two batches and then spend about 10-15 minutes stirring at the end. That’s it.
Please note that I’ve now made this several times using my Zojirushi, which holds 3 cups max. This recipe fills the bowl pretty well, which means the hardest part is not spilling ingredients during the final stirring phase. If you have a larger pot, then things will be much easier! In my cooker, the white rice is done in 45 minutes. This cooking phase will vary with machines, of course, but generally speaking, this is a recipe that will be done in about an hour with little effort involved.
Bready or Not: Rice Cooker Risotto
Equipment
- rice cooker (3 cup minimum capacity)
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons dried shallots
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 3 to 4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth divided
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus more for serving
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 ounces shredded Parmesan plus more for serving
Instructions
- In the bowl of the rice cooker, place shallots, garlic, arborio rice, wine, 2 cups broth, 4 Tablespoons butter in pieces, salt, and pepper. Close the lid and set to cook on WHITE RICE SETTING.
- As soon as the timer goes off, set the rice cooker to WARM if it does not automatically do so. Open the lid and add the lemon juice, peas, Parmesan, and 1 cup broth. Cut the last 4 Tablespoons of butter into pieces and add to bowl. Stir until the butter and cheese are melted–this is the hardest part of the whole recipe, as the bowl may be quite full.
- Drizzle in more broth about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well after each time, until the risotto reaches the desired consistency. (Note that having leftover broth may be a good thing if you also have leftover risotto, as the risotto will thicken a lot when chilled and will need some broth stirred in to loosen it during reheating.)
- Once the consistency is right, add more cheese, salt, and pepper, if desired. Serve risotto by itself or with added meat such as chicken, and of course, more of the white wine to wash down the food.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not EXTRA CHEESY: Legendary Macaroni and Cheese
Welcome to the fourth installment of our special month of Bready or Not. My cheese-centric cozy mystery Cheddar Luck Next Time came out earlier this month, so we’re celebrating with another cheesy recipe from the Bready or Not archives.
This week’s feature is Legendary Macaroni and Cheese. This one gained incredible popularity during the shut-down in 2020.
There are a gazillion macaroni and cheese recipes out there. This one is special because it can be prepared ahead of time, making it incredibly convenient to heat up for a meal during a busy week or during a holiday event.
This is a heavily modified version of musician John Legend’s macaroni recipe, which he originally shared on the Martha Stewart Show a long time ago.
Please grab a copy of Cheddar Luck Next Time, which features an autistic (like me!) lead character with a passion for cheese (like me!).
Amazon: paperback | ebook (affiliate links)
Barnes & Noble: paperback & ebook
Bookshop: paperback
Bready or Not: Legendary Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for baking dish
- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddars, shredded
- sprinkle paprika
- bread crumbs
Instructions
- If you plan to bake this right away, preheat oven to 375-degrees. Butter or spray a 9×9 baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt and macaroni. Cook until al dente. Drain the water and return the macaroni to the pot. Add butter and stir until it has melted.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together evaporated milk and egg. Add seasoned salt, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Place about 1/3 of the macaroni in an even layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish. This should be just enough to cover the bottom. Cover with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat twice more with remaining macaroni and cheese.
- Pour the milk and seasonings mixture evenly over the contents of the baking dish. At this point, you can stash the dish in the fridge overnight or during the day until it’s meal time.
- When you’re ready to bake, make sure the oven is preheated. Sprinkle the top of the macaroni with paprika and bread crumbs.
- Bake until top layer is lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes; note that if the dish is cold, bake time will likely need to be extended to closer to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Classic Pot Roast
Classic Pot Roast. Why haven’t I featured this on Bready or Not before? Because Arizona is not conducive to prolonged use of the oven outside of the two months of ‘winter.’
But I’m in the Midwest now. That means I can whip up a proper pot roast (quite likely on a Sunday), and might just use local ingredients, too.
Fun fact: I hate celery, but I like celery flakes. That’s why you see me use celery flakes in recipes like this. You can absolutely use a couple stalks of celery instead.
If you have a large can of tomato paste, portion out standard amounts that are used in recipes (like tablespoon dollops), freeze them on wax paper, then store them in a quart freezer bag to toss into recipes. If you forget to thaw them before cooking, no biggie, just add it in frozen and give it a touch extra time to break down.
Bready or Not: Classic Pot Roast
Equipment
- large oven-safe Dutch oven or pot with lid
Ingredients
- 3-4 pound chuck roast tied
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus another 1/2 teaspoon
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- 2 medium onions cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tablespoons celery flakes
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry red wine or reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 can reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 1/2 pound small red potatoes cleaned and quartered
- 1 1/2 cups baby carrots
- 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Dry roast and sprinkle with the pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt on both sides.
- In a large pot on the stove, heat the oil. Add the roast and brown on all sides. Set meat aside.
- Add onions, garlic, and remaining salt to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 8-10 minutes, until browned. Add celery flakes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves, stirring in for about a minute.
- Add wine (or extra broth) and stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Add the can of broth. Return roast to the pan. Arrange vegetables around the roast while bringing the pot to a boil. Once that mark is reached, turn off burner and carefully transfer pot to oven. Cover and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meat is fork-tender.
- Pull pot from oven. Carefully remove meat and vegetables to a platter. Discard bay leaves and skim any fat from the top of the liquids. Bring pot to a boil again, cooking for 10-12 minutes, until liquid is reduced by half. (While this is going on, prepare meat by removing string and slicing or cutting into chunks.) Add vinegar and parsley to the pot. Add more salt and vinegar to taste.
- Serve meat, potatoes, and veggies with sauce. Any leftovers are great reheated on the stove over the next day or so.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chicken and Rice Soup
Chicken and Rice Soup is the ultimate classic, home-cooking, feel-better-soon kind of meal. I’m stunned I haven’t featured it on Bready or Not before, but here it is now: my take on the old favorite.
I’ve tweaked this over the years to get the balance of liquids and seasonings just right. I make this a couple times a year. It’s my stand-by if my husband is sick–it’s hearty, hot, sits well in the stomach, and the sheer amount made means the leftovers can last for days (which is nice if I come down sick next, too).
Bready or Not Original: Chicken and Rice Soup
Equipment
- stock pot or other large pot with lid
Ingredients
- 1 cup baby carrots chopped
- 2 Tablespoons dried celery flakes
- 1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 64 oz reduced sodium chicken broth 2 boxes or 4 cans
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup short grain white rice such as sushi rice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 freshly-cut sprig
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 to 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken or cooked turkey
- 1 1/2 cups half & half
Instructions
- Place carrots, celery flakes, dried onion, and garlic powder in a large pot along with 1 can of chicken broth (if using a box of broth, just pour in about 1/2 of one; no need to be exact). Sauté on medium heat for 10 minutes, until carrots are tender. Sprinkle in flour and stir for another few minutes.
- Add rest of broth along with the rice, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring pot to boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cover pot. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes. When the rice is tender, add the chicken or turkey. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir in half & half and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove both bay leaves. Add salt and pepper to preference. Serve hot. Leftovers can keep in the fridge or days or can be frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Easy Italian Meatballs
Everyone probably has their own take on classic Italian Meatballs. This is mine!
What I love about the recipe is that it, 1) tastes good, and 2) is convenient. I can mix the meatballs up ahead of time and stash them in the fridge or even the freezer. They can be cooked straight from the freezer, too! Just cook them a little longer.
I always go with 93% lean ground beef, but use whatever kind you want–even do a meat of beef and pork or ground sausage. Consider this recipe a template. Mix it up, switch out or increase seasonings, whatever.
These are great with all kinds of dishes, too. Use them with the standard spaghetti or other Italian pasts, or on zoodles, or with sauce on some submarine sandwich bread. They are even good heated up, eaten by themselves!
Bready or Not Original: Easy Italian Meatballs
Equipment
- food scale
- 9×13 dish or large rimmed baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for pan and hands
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups panko
- 1/2 cup milk or water
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ounce Parmesan or Grana Padano, freshly grated, roughly 1/2 cup
- 1 pound ground beef
Instructions
- Move rack to top third of oven and start to preheat at 425-degrees. Rub or brush a 9×13 casserole pan or rimmed baking sheet with oil.
- In a large bowl, use a big spoon to mash together the 2 Tablespoons oil, eggs, panko, liquid, salt, pepper, seasoning, garlic powder, and cheese. The goal is to create a smooth paste. Add a handful of meat. Mix in, and gradually drop in the rest of the meat to thoroughly combine.
- Use a food scale to weigh the meat, then divide that total by 8 (or any other desired increment). With oiled hands, press together meatballs, weighing each to create ones of equal size.
- Bake meatballs for 20 minutes. Use a metal spatula to carefully flip over each for the browned-bottom is on top. Bake for another 6 to 10 minutes, until meatballs are fully browned. An instant read thermometer plunged into one should read over 160-degrees.
- Serve as desired. Leftovers are great to refrigerate or freeze.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats
These Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats are not the most photogenic of foods, but they are delicious, healthy, and good, and probably one of the most convenient meals in my cooking repertoire.
I’ve been cooking this recipe for over five years now, tweaking it here and there, making it better. What I present here is really a foundation. This recipe can be customized all kinds of ways–either when the food is being assembled, by adding in different spices or apples, or by tweaking it at serving time.
I love using Gala, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady apples, but go for any good baking-type apple or a variety thereof. You don’t want the apples to go to mush. Or maybe you do? That might not be a terrible thing here.
I typically use unsweetened vanilla almond milk or cashew milk, but any plain or vanilla nut, soy, or oat milks would work, or you can opt for dairy milk.
This isn’t an overnight slow cooker oats recipe. I’ve tried that. Even on low and warm settings, the oats just plain overcooked for my preference. The consistency goes brick-like and the pot requires some intense scraping if you don’t use a removable liner. I prefer to make this during the day, and then portion out the oats to go in the fridge and freezer. They reheat beautifully.
Bready or Not Original: Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats
Equipment
- large slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats no substitutes
- 2 cups nut milk or oat milk, regular or vanilla, sweetened or unsweetened
- 2 cups water
- 2 medium apples peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to distribute. Place lid on pot and put heat level to LOW. Cook for 3 hours before lifting lid again. Stir and taste to test doneness. Continue to cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, dependent on the desired texture for the oats. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will be.
- Serve oats fresh, or stash in fridge to reheat in microwave over the next week. These oats are great to portion out and freeze for later. If desired, add more spices, fresh fruit, or extra milk when serving–the customization possibilities are endless!
