Grilled Tomato Risotto with Roasted Portobellos

The last time I made risotto, 5 years ago it was awful. It took about a year to cook. Well, nott hat long but I royally messed it up. So this was my second attempt ever at making a risotto. I had some ingredients that I wanted to use up and it was a Friday, so it had to be meatless. I found this (click "this" for link):

This is about halfway through before adding the tomatoes.




After adding grilled tomatoes. Don't forget to taste it and add a little salt if needed!











And this is what the dish looks like, assembled with the portobello.

I just want to take a minute here and apologize to Emeril. I know you are probably really excited to see your recipe on my blog, Emeril. I just know you check it every day. And I want to say I am sorry for thinking this recipe would be bland and boring before I actually made it. It was so good, flavorful and I know you would think I did a great job seasoning it. I will make this recipe again and again.

Carnitas and Rice

This is a pretty simple recipe that I make in the crockpot:

3 lbs pork loin
1 can diced green chiles
1 can fire roasted tomatoes (with or without green chiles)
1 small onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1tsp oregano
1-2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chile powder

Put it all in the crock pot and shred the meat when it is good and tender. If you really don't know how to use a crock pot and cannot figure out how to make this recipe, leave a comment below so we can all laugh at you. Sometimes I serve this with homemade tortillas (that I make with lard! that I save) but this time I served it with Acapulco's Rice, to which I made a few adjustments, such as cilantro instead of parsley. Thanks for the recipe Dad, but I think you made it better. I think Dad added a chipotle chile and some green onions to the rice and I will definitely do that next time, even if he didn't because it just sounds good. The recipe also needs more time and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup more liquid, if you are using brown rice.

Anyways, I served this with shredded cheese and sour cream. If I had thought about it, I may have garnished with green onion or a bit more cilantro.

Chorizo Stuffed Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 link of chorizo
• 5-6 button mushrooms
• 2 c spinach (I used roughly 1-2 large handfuls)
• 2 c cheese
• 5 chicken breasts (either pounded flat to roll up or with a pocket cut in the for stuffing)
• salt
• pepper
• smoked paprika

• 1 c brown rice cooked according to directions in water with 2 cubes chicken bullion and 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, (medium, hot or whatever you prefer)
• 1 can green chiles
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Cook chorizo, draining excess grease, remove from pan
2. Saute mushrooms in same pan, adding spinach at the end with enough time to just wilt it a bit
3. Mix mushrooms and Spinach with chorizo
4. Stuff mixture into chicken and seal with toothpicks
5. Bake at 325 for 50-70 minutes, covered in a glass pan
6. While chorizo is baking prepare rice adding bullion and olive oil
7. Once rice is about 90% done, add chiles, cumin, and garlic powder and tomatoes
8. During last 10 minutes of baking, top chicken with cheese

If you have any leftover chorizo mixture, save it and make a dip layered with cream cheese, with shredded cheese on top. You can either microwave it or bake it until the cheese bubbles, serve with tortilla chips or on small flour tortillas for a snack or a light lunch.