Lyssy's "baby" risotto...risotto with baby scallops & baby portebello mushrooms 10.18.09

There is football on the t.v., the sun is shining on a cool but sunshiney fall Sunday afternoon.  I was longing to cook a new chili recipe so I'd have something to keep busy...but alas, we've eaten a little too much beef in the last week to do it again so soon.  Chili will have to wait a few days, but the recipe is up on the fridge waiting.  I'm going stir crazy today.  Looking up suggestions on how to declutter to prepare to move into a smaller place.  We're considering going back to school and need to downsize...which I actually like the idea of, although I love where I live already, minus the noisy upstairs neighbors.  I think they bowl up there.  But, I digress...I just hate to move, and I want to make it simple.  We'll have little, very little storage, so I must be ruthless.  I need some anti anxiety meds!  I actually only daydream of that...and instead put on my music, poor a icey cold diet coke, and get to work.  I thrive on having simple surroundings and uncluttered environment...but the actual getting rid of stuff is stressful.  I am finding myself to be quite a minamalist, but was raised by a packrat.."but I'll need it!"  It's taken me a while to find out that I do best in really simple environments...I'm still working on it.  I think that's a big part of why I chopped my hair so short. I get a knot in my stomach just thinking of that overstuffed garage of my childhood, where the car couldn't be parked!  AHHHH!  I want to be as far as the east is from the west of that!..and actually there is still an overstuffed garage at their home...I feel like its following me!

Well...in the spirit of decluttering, I've applied it to our groceries...we will have baby seafood risotto tonight...cause I have all the ingredients and its not beef.  I feel a little victory in using up groceries I already have..actually more than a little victory...a lot!

The plan is to defrost and then dry the scallops well.  Lightly season with s&p, sear, set aside.  Then clean and quarter the mushrooms, or maybe half, and sear them as well with a little s&p.  Then I'll make a standard risotto(-)the white wine, since I don't have any. (wrong, we went to Walmart and got our favorite bargain wine, Oak Leaf...Pinot this time, I think I like the Chardonney better tho)  I saute a little onion, add the rice, (then the 1/2 c wine) then the chix stock till the rice is tender, stirring often, then check seasoning, add a nob of butter and good shaving of parmesean...stir well, then fold in the scallops and mushrooms.  I'll probably add a little fresh basil too.  Hopefully it will work.  I love risotto, and would be happy to eat it with nothing else in it...but Scott always wants some protein...and loves scallops and we both love mushrooms.  Now I must figure out what to do with myself until its time to cook dinner.  The hope is to find something to do that will distract me from my over-whelmedness about moving/downsizing, etc....Well, at least this got me a little closer to dinner time.

10.19.09 Okay, dinner was very yummy.  I ended up cooking the mushrooms first, olive oil/butter, in a very hot skillet till nicely browned, seasoned with a little s&p, removed, then seared, or attempted to sear the scallops.  Didn't have the skillet hot enough, set the scallops aside, but left the rendered juice in the pan, which did carmelize...then sauteed the onion in the same pan and kept all that great flavor.  Despite the fact that the scallops were previously frozen, they were very sweet and fresh!  Who knew?  I had the little bit left over for lunch today...delish! BTW, we also ate the 2nd half of our Costco garlic bread with the risotto...you know in the spirit of using up the groceries...that's the only reason, right?  It had nothing to do with the fact that its the best bread ever!?  Well, now its all gone, mission accomplished