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Dinner tonight will be courtesy of Trader Joe’s. A while back, I discovered TJ’s frozen risotto with asparagus. I was skeptical but starving so I bought a few bags. I was even more skeptical when I dumped it all out onto my skillet. I will tell you right now - this risotto was a dud. I learned quickly though (with the two bags left in my freezer) how to turn this into a winner.

While heating the risotto, add in more asparagus! Doesn’t matter if it’s frozen or fresh, just chop a few in half (or thirds) and toss it in the skillet. As the risotto starts cooking, add in a couple pads of butter - no margarine or olive oil. The butter enriches the overall flavor of the risotto, which in this case just does not work as well with margarine or olive oil. Stir for a bit and then add in fresh parmasean. I hate to admit this, but if you’re in a bind, Kraft parmasean will do the trick, too. I still strongly advocate the use of fresh parmasean instead.

As the risotto is nearing completion, turn the heat down to low and chop up some fresh basil to toss in at the end. (TJ sells sweet basil plants for $3.99. Mine grew wild and gave me more basil leaves than I could use. Well worth the price to have such an endless supply of fresh basil at hand.) Add ground pepper if desired.

This entire quick and easy process takes approximately 15 minutes, which makes it the perfect home cooking meal after a long Monday at work. I almost always have at least a bag of this risotto in my freezer for emergencies. TJ also sells the risotto with mushrooms, but I just haven’t been adventurous enough to give that one a try yet.

By Pauline (see more of her posts).