"HARD BOILED" EGGS FROM THE OVEN !!

There is nothing tricky about boiling eggs for Easter, but there are ALWAYS those eggs that crack as they boil, or the phone rings and you forget the eggs on the stove (and they overcook and  get those green "rings" around the yolks, etc.)  Not a big deal, but it can be a hassle when you are preparing for a crowd.

This oven method, of cooking eggs in the shell, is not only fool proof, but the eggs come out absolutely perfect and you can make a ba-jillion at once!!

Preheat your oven to 350 and place large size eggs in a mini-muffin pan (large end down). If you don't have a mini-muffin pan, you can use a regular cupcake pan  (they they will just roll around a little more).

How long you bake the eggs depends on the size of eggs you use and how hot your oven runs. I used large grade A eggs and cooked them for 25 minutes.  If you are concerned about it, just run a "test egg" to gauge how long to cook them.

When the eggs are done, use tongs to put the eggs into a bowl of ICE water (for 10 minutes) to stop further cooking.

NOTE: After the eggs are cooked, you MIGHT find SOME eggs that have brown speckles on them, but don't freak out; these little specks will dissolve when you put the eggs into the ice water. The next photo is before and after the ice water bath.

Not only is this a great way to cook Easter eggs in bulk, but the eggs are delicious!! The yolks are bright yellow and the whites are very tender (not rubbery like boiled eggs can produce).

Where has this cooking method been all my life!?!?

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Easy Tasty Vegetable Biriyani

One of my favorite one pot meals is the biriyani, there are many versions however this is one of my favorite versions. It takes very little time and very easy to prepare. Hope you will enjoy preparing it too

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 cup diced bellpepper
• 1 cup diced paneer
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• 3 sliced green chillies
• 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp shahi biryani masala
• salt to taste

Procedure

Soak rice with 2 cups water for 1/2 hr. Add a tbsp of oil , 1/2 tsp salt to the soaked rice, pressure cook the rice with three whistles and 3 minutes in sim and switch it off.

Once it cools open pressure cooker and add 1 tsp ghee and keep aside.

In a deep bottom pan heat 2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee, add cummin seeds, onions and fry till onions turn translucent, add garlic ginger paste and tomato puree and fry till oil begins to saturate, now add all the veggies and mix nicely and add little water let it cook till it becomes tender.

Now add salt, green chillies, mint leaves, cilantro, red chilli powder,turmeric, shahi biriyani masala and mix nicely.Once oil begins to saturate add the cooked rice and mix gently with the veggies.

Fry the paneer with 1 tsp oil till golden brown and add to the rice. Serve hot with your choice of raitha.

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BACON RISOTTO

There are huge "blind spots" in my cooking repertoire, like various herbs that I've never been introduced to, or spices that picky-picky husband refuses to eat and then there is always the financial restrictions that keep me from trying certain foods.

I'm not sure which of these categories risotto falls into (I've never even tasted it before today)  but I'm guessing that the $10 price tag for a 36 ounce jar of Arborio rice was part of the "hold up". I know I will be on a search for a more reasonable source, in the near future, for this specialty rice since we liked it so much.

This recipe came from allrecipes.com and it is absolutely delicious. I am really looking forward to reheating it for tomorrows lunch!!

1/2 pound bacon (fried, drained and crumbled)
5 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (see note)
1½ cups Arborio rice (do not use regular rice)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (not the powdered kind)
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a sauce pan, over high heat; reduce the heat to low and keep the chicken stock hot.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion begins to turn golden brown at the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it is coated in butter and has started to toast, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium and stir in one third of the hot chicken stock; continue stirring until the rice has absorbed the liquid and turned creamy.

Repeat this process two more times, stirring constantly, which should take about 15-20 minutes total time. The rice should be tender but slightly firm when fully cooked.

Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the cheese and the crisp bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE: As a first time risotto maker, I was nervous about making rice without using a lid on the pan, but it works great...just don't rush it.

NOTE: I wanted the bacon flavor to cook into the rice, so I put about half of the crisp bacon into the rice as it cooked, then mixed in the other half of the crisp bacon before serving. I will definitely do that again because it gave the rice a wonderful flavor.

NOTE: The recipe calls for four cloves of garlic, but that seems like a LOT. I didn't use any garlic because picky-picky is allergic to it.

These photos do not do this tasty side dish justice.

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