Chicken & Bacon Risotto

So I had to share this dish that I made, unfortunately it was so good that I ate it before I even thought about taking pictures of it. Sorry folks! It's one of those random dishes you throw together with leftovers and viola it's a fabulous dish.

I had tried risotto before and it was creamy & delicious so I bought a box. I attempted to make it but it was not well received, so the box just sat there until I got enough nerve to try it again. This time was a hit. I was lucky enough to have roast chicken leftovers and chicken broth that I had made and froze earlier this week. It's so easy - the only time consuming part is getting the rice to soak up the broth. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The great thing about risotto is that you can throw almost anything in it. For this recipe the creamy texture of the rice paired with veggies, chicken, and bacon are a tasty combination. The bacon really adds an additional smoky flavor to an already comfort food dish.

Chicken & Bacon Risotto

1 c. uncooked Risotto rice
1/2 c. mix of red onion & yellow onion (you can use either one, but it was tasty...)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
3 c. chicken broth
1 c. frozen mix veggies (peas, corn, etc.)
1-2 c. leftover chicken, shredded into bit size pieces
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Melt butter & oil in large skillet on medium heat. Saute onions in skillet for about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic & vegetables and saute for 1 minute. Add uncooked rice to skillet, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add 1 cup of the chicken broth to the rice mixture and bring to a boil (stir constantly), then reduce to medium heat. Continue to stir constantly until all the broth has been absorbed. Make sure all liquid has absorbed before adding additional cups. Add another cup of broth and continue to stir constantly until broth absorbed. Repeat with the last cup of broth. Once the liquid has absorbed add the chicken, bacon, add salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (as much or as little as you want.). Serve immediately.


We had this with Great Lakes Brewing Company Burning River beer, a pale ale with a lightness and hoppiness that goes well with the dish. The Wandering Beer Man said it was a great combination. Who better to ask?

Hope in Changing Times

It's a dreary day here in Michigan, however it's the kind of day that brings in rain, wind & the promise of spring.

I was looking today at my favorite blogs and found an inspiring graphic design piece. At the Scoop, Emily posted a link to designer PT Chmiel's Wise Investment poster. You can look at the full poster with card text here.


Although the text of the card is a little Armageddon for my liking, I appreciate the emphasis of refocusing our lives on not accumulating more debt and material possessions, but rather focusing on community & family, rebuilding, and sustainable living. My favorite part of PT Chmiel's piece is here:

"Life in years to come may not be the same life we enjoy today, at least in a material sense, but it can be a lot more rewarding than the work/shop/TV/sleep/die life that most of us now lead. The key to weathering the storm lies in joining together in closer-knit groups of family and community; the solutions will not be coming from the top-down, they will be happening from the ground-up...and that is empowering.

This is a friendly nudge imploring you to take stock of what you have, imagine the worst-case scenarios, and learn how you can come out with an advantage no matter what the future holds. All of the things I suggest are things that you can probably use anyway, and most make good common sense. Keep in mind that your money could become worthless, and ponder what a tragedy that would be. If you’re hungry and there’s no electricity, your priorities will change; you might gladly trade your iPhone or flatscreen for a few potatoes. I hope it never comes to that, but please don’t consider it an impossibility, either. Try to stay positive and find strength in your family and community."

For many people, the recession is forcing us to rethink our priorities, our values, and even details of our daily lives. My hope is that as we weather this storm, new ideas of sustainable living, values, and interconnectedness emerges as we learn to create a new type of lifestyle for ourselves. My hope is that gratitude replaces fear, sustainability replaces materialism, and connection replaces distance.

Beginnings....

Hello and Welcome! Thanks again for visiting the Adventures in Abundance blog.

I have been debating for a few weeks now on whether or not to start a blog. I love reading other blogs and getting ideas/inspirations from them. However to begin your own is rather daunting.

I decided to name this blog adventures in abundance due to lately my life seems full of adventures and changes. They may not be the prior grand schemes that I plotted away with my husband, but are really internal adventures. I choose abundance because recent life changes (job losses, etc.) has lead me to contemplate the meaning. My horoscope today really sums it up:

You may have entered a financial "Twilight Zone," and nothing you do right now makes much sense of your current fiscal picture. Even the simplest decision about buying something you need might set a whole sequence of events into place, culminating in your realization that you don't have an endless supply of money. Today the idea of manifesting abundance may be easier to come by than actually having enough to get what you want.

The focus of this blog will probably be random - but let me overview some of my interests:

Cooking - I adore cooking and search the web endlessly for recipes and ideas. Since financially we have to tighten down the money bag I have cooked more at home so of course that increases the joy of cooking even more (except the dish washing part). I believe Top Chef has increased my culinary arts skills. I am excited about the Slow Food movement and believe buying local is more important than buying organic. Oh yes I said that! But I digress...

Camping/Backpacking - this is a joint effort from both my husband and myself, however Michigan winters do stalemate the adventures. There is nothing like being outdoors, getting dirty, and hiking through the woods.

Photography/Natural World - I love photography, however feel that I am not quite up to par as most people. I use to have skills, even worked in a dark room for a few years in high school, however the skills fell to the waste side. Instead I enjoy the visual stimulation of looking at others' works.

Scrapbooking/Card Making/Knitting - I have just stumbled on the joys of scrapbooking and card making due to my recent nuptials and large quantities of wedding pictures. There's something to be said about large amounts of paper/stickers/glue/pictures that just get me. It's like being a kid again with your own grownup sticker collection. Knitting was a past time I partaked in last winter and quickly forgot this winter. Hopefully I will begin again and appreciate any encouragement or ideas on either subject!

Reading - I was named bookworm in elementary school (really fantastic for a girl with glasses, curly hair, and braces, eh?) and that has carried on throughout my life. I don't know how many times I have spent hours in Borders or Barnes & Nobles looking for books, until someone rescued me.

Feminism/Social Justice Issues/Poverty issues - To not disclose too much I must add that I am a social worker graduate student. I have been a feminist since I picked up my first copy of the Feminist Mystique when I was 16. Changed my life! I have definetly calmed down over the past years but due appreciate a good protest & my bimonthly Bust subscriptions. As I work more in the field, issues regarding people who live in poverty or low income really touch home with me. I would go off on this subject, but I want to keep the intro brief.

I am sure there is more, but the blog will have to unravel these adventures!
** I do have to place a disclaimer here. This blog is for personal enjoyment and I do not present myself as a professional writer. So please any comments discussing the validity of my statements, grammer inadequacies, or failure to provide witty comentary can be placed elsewhere, unless provided as constructive criticism. Also I am pretty new at this blog thing. **