Cheeseburger Risotto

The perfect meal for an overcast stormy day, this meal is the epitome of comfort food. The kids loved it and for the grownups it was like a classed up version of Hamburger Helper (without the hard to pronounce additives). This one will definitely live in my normal rotation.

Cheeseburger Risotto

(serves 4) 

1 lb ground beef

1 clove garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder

1 TBS butter

1 TBS oil

1/2 cup red wine

1 1/2 cups arborio rice (I find it is much cheaper to buy this in the bulk section than in containers)

8 oz canned diced tomatoes & their liquid (I used the leftovers from a 32 oz can from another meal)

8 oz shredded cheese (I used Cabot Bacon Cheddar which I highly recommend but you can pick anything)

1. In a saucepan, brown the ground beef. While the ground beef is browning melt 1 TBS of butter in a stockpot. Add the oil to the stockpot and dump in the arborio rice once the butter is bubbling. Using a wooden spoon move around the rice to "toast it". When the kernels look translucent around the edges with a white spot in the middle dump in the wine. It should make a nice "poof" noise. If you don't want to use wine just replace it with another liquid. Stir the rice rapidly. 

Let the rice "toast" in the butter & oil.

2. Add the garlic to the ground beef. I used raw (not cured) garlic so I just sliced it in half and removed it before we ate it. Raw garlic is really pungent so I didn't want anyone biting into it. You could mince a regular clove of garlic or use garlic powder instead.

3. You're going to start slowly adding the liquid to the rice. I put half the tomatoes in my measuring cup and then added hot water to make 2 cups. You want to add this slowly and stir frequently. I add about 1/3 cup of liquid at a time and then add more after it has been absorbed. Make sure the heat is closer to medium than high. If the heat is too high the liquid will boil and evaporate instead of being absorbed and you'll end up with kernels that are crunchy in the middle. After you've gone through the 2 cups of tomato water make a second 2 cups. You want to add a total of 4 cups of tomato water to the risotto.

Tomato Water

Add the liquid a little at a time.

4.  Once all the liquid has been absorbed add the ground beef to the risotto and mix it in.

Add the cheese and mix that in as well. 

Dish out and enjoy!