It’s more than just rice! Here’s a creamy risotto with sundried tomato pesto and loads of veggies.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups water
1 vegetable boullion cube
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup frozen corn
3 tbsp sundried tomato pesto

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, celery and carrot for 3 minutes until softened. Add rice and saute for another few minutes. Add water and turn heat on high until boiling. Add boullion cube and stir until dissolved. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and rice is cooked. Add mushroom soup, parmesan cheese, peas, corn and pesto. Stir until fully combined and cook covered for 5-10 minutes until vegetables are heated through.

I made this one night when Tony was barbequing. Since he was taking care of the meat part of dinner, it gave me more time to create a really nice side dish. It turned out really well and we liked it a lot. I’m trying to remember if Cole liked it or not. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess…um, let’s see…not.
That boy is seriously determined to live on nothing but hot dogs and french toast. Anyway, this is great as a side dish but could also be a meal in itself, especially if you added some chicken or shrimp to it. The following day I cut up some of the left-over barbequed chicken and added it into the risotto and it made a very nice lunch.