Weeknight Risotto

I am always looking for new dinner ideas. I get tired of making the same things all of the time, but as much as I love cooking I need simple, easy and quick on weeknights. These yummy meatballs are some we've been making for a while now. They are based off of this original recipe I found on Pinterest. I tweak a little bit, mainly based off what I do and don't normally have on hand in my kitchen. They are not your plain ordinary meatballs, but they are still simple enough to whip up in a short amount of time.


This time around I wanted to try something new and attempt some risotto to go along with them. I've made a ground beef risotto recipe a few times, but I had never attempted any other version so this was an experiment of sorts. I looked up the ground beef version I had made before along with searching a couple of other homemade risotto recipes and then made some adjustments and gave it a whirl.


First I added the butter to a high sided pan and heated it up over med-high heat. At this point I would have added fresh chopped garlic and onion, but I'm overdue a trip to the farmer's market so there was none on hand. Instead I added some black pepper and garlic powder and stirred it around. (FYI the lighting in my kitchen is not the greatest, so unreliable photo quality below. BOO!)

Then I added the rice in and cooked it, constantly stirring, for several minutes.

Then I slowly added the chicken broth stirring constantly. I brought this mixture to a boil and then lowered the heat to a simmer and covered. At this point I turned it over to the hubby who had already taken a shower so that I could go get cleaned up myself. I left him with the instructions to let it simmer for around 10 minutes or until the liquid was absorbed. I also told him to add a little more broth if needed but I don't think it was necessary.

Once the liquid was absorbed he added in the parmesan cheese and stirred.

Overall I would say it turned out pretty good, a little tougher than I would have liked so next time I will probably cook it just a little longer. There was also the fact that the hubby and I switched places so we could get dinner cooked and both get showered and not be eating at 10pm... so I can't tell you exactly what went on when I wasn't in the kitchen and how long it actually cooked. As far as I know it was around 10 minutes. In the end I think I will definitely be adding this to the list of side dishes we make so over the next few times we should get it down a little better. :) 

Weeknight Risotto


Ingredients
1 cup rice (We used extra long grain. I think it could be better with other kinds but it worked)
~ 1 Tbsp butter
Ground black pepper
~1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1-2 garlic cloves chopped
*Onion if you have it
2.5 - 3 cups of broth (I used chicken but you could use beef too)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese


I recommend having all your ingredients ready to go when you start.


*I would have added some onion or onion powder/minced onion in, but I'm due a trip to the store or farmer's market so right now I have none.


Directions
Heat pan over med-high heat add butter and let it melt.


Stir in garlic, onion, pepper (get crazy and add some other seasonings if you wish). If you're using the real thing let it cook for several minutes. If you're using powdered spices like I had to this time you really just want to stir it in and then move to the rice.


Add rice, stir and cook for several minutes.


Add broth in slowly and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for around 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. (Note: some, probably most, risotto recipes I saw advise you to add in broth a little at a time and wait until it is absorbed to add some more. While that is probably the true way to make risotto, this is weeknight {read: shortcut} risotto so I went with the one recipe that did it this way)


Remove from heat and stir in cheese.


Serve and enjoy!