Mushroom Jalapeno Rice and Asparagus with Brie/Balsamic Reduction

 

My poor, poor, poor computer almost died today. It wouldn't start and I was having a melt down because I'm "that dumb person" that doesn't back-up anything. I thought I would lose my pictures and videos of my daughter, which would be extremely tragic. I treasure the pictures of my daughter so very much. She's growing up so fast. I can already see future Elsa having empty nest syndrome and crying while flipping through old memories. I'm dramatic like that. hehehe Anyway, thank goodness my husband was able to save the computer and now here I am, posting food pics..... ONLY AFTER I backed-up all of my videos and pictures. ;)

Update: It died again, but everything is backed-up, so I'm not heartbroken. Unfortunately, this means I'm not able to post and comment as often as I like. Hopefully we'll get it up and running again soon!  

As for the food, well I decided to make rice, asparagus and steak the other day. My typical asparagus dish is roasting it with garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes I add Parm-Reg, sometimes I don't. Yesterday I decided to change things up a bit though. I still roasted the asparagus, but this time I topped it with brie and a balsamic reduction. The reason I went with brie is because I was trying to use it up. I'm not really a brie fan, so even though it worked beautifully, I would rather use fresh mozzarella next time. The rice was also great with tons of flavor. Not only did my toddler eat it, which was a miracle, but my husband was still commenting on it the next day.

Trim the asparagus, add oil, salt and mix.

The balsamic reduction should be thick, like syrup.

Plate and drizzle on the reduction.

Roasted Asparagus with Brie and Balsamic Reduction
Serving Size = 2

• 1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed
• Salt to taste
• Oil, just a few tablespoons, not too much (Extra Virgin Olive Oil will work)
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 8 pieces of brie, roughly (or fresh mozzarella, which I would prefer)

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Place the asparagus in a dish and drizzle on the oil, season with salt to taste. Roast for about 15 minutes, until tender.
3. In the meantime, start the balsamic reduction. Place the vinegar in a small or medium saucepan and cook over medium low heat, creating a gentle simmer. Cook until the liquid reduces by half and coats the back of a spoon (like syrup).
4. In the last few minutes of cooking the asparagus, add the brie or mozzarella and melt.
5. When done, plate the asparagus and then drizzle on the reduction.

By the way, as I type this, my toddler is pretending to pour things into containers and cook and stir and all that fun stuff. :)

Chop the mushrooms, onions and garlic.

Roughly chop the parsley.

Mix together and cover.

Serve!

Mushroom and Jalapeno Rice
Serving Size = 3 - 4

• 10 white mushrooms (roughly), cleaned and sliced
• 1 cup of uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 2 green onions, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 - 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup parsley
• Salt to taste (don't skimp), and Pepper
• Oil/Butter (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a tablespoon of butter)

1. Start by sauteing (over medium heat) the mushrooms, jalapeno, onions and garlic in the oil and butter (or just oil, it doesn't matter too much). Cook until tender and add some salt and pepper.
2. Add the rice and stir, then add the beef broth and parsley. Add some more salt if necessary and stir. My beef broth doesn't have much salt, so I tend to need extra, it just depends on the brand.
3. When the broth comes to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
4. Cook for 20 minutes.

Linking to: Full Plate Thursday, Friday Potluck, Foodie Friday