Mexican Risotto with Marinated Beef Kabobs

I think the flavors of Mexican food are on the top of my list of favorites, and I think Jon would agree. Sometimes, when friends are asking for meal suggestions, I scroll through my blog and notice that the majority of my meals use ingredients such as tomatillos, poblanos, jalapenos, Mexican spices, or cilantro.

I buy jalapenos at the produce store and you must get 25 jalapenos in a bag for $2! Pretty soon I should have that many in my garden - I'm growing them and my plants have several peppers each. Yesterday I wanted to use up a bunch of the jalapenos I had, and Jon felt like grilling, so I came up with a menu that would satisfy both of us.

Marinated Beef Kabobs with Mexican Risotto


The Marinade
Jon was busy outside so I tried my hand at making up a marinade. I did run outside to run it by him before I actually did it... I let the beef marinate for about 5 hours

• 3/4 c olive oil
• 1/4 c tequila
• 2 jalapenos, sliced
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 hour before cooking add 2 tbsp lime juice

The Kabobs

I love lots of color on my kabobs. I used red pepper, green pepper, orange pepper, red onion, zucchini, and jalapenos. BE careful, the jalapenos seem to get even hotter after grilling!

I put them together and Jon grilled them up. Look at this shot of them on the grill -

And then the finished product -

Mexican Risotto

I'm not really sure if there is a risotto dish in Mexican cooking, but I'm calling this Mexican risotto because of the flavors. I have several recipes for risotto in this blog and this one will definitely remain on the top of the list of my favorites.

Ingredients

• 1 c arborio rice
• 5 c low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 c dry white wine
• 1/2 each red and green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• Optional: corn, finely chopped zucchini, different peppers
• 1/2 c shredded cheese; I used a Mexican blend
• Spices - about 1/2 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp cumin
• A few shakes of red pepper flakes
• Sour cream for serving

Directions

• Pour chicken stock into a pot and add spices; heat gently
• Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat
• Add onions and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes
• Add arborio rice and stir until coated, about 1 minute
• Add white wine and stir until absorbed
• Add broth, 1 ladle at a time, letting it absorb while stirring constantly.
• Add peppers after the first ladle.
• After about 17-25 minutes all of the broth should have been used and the rice should be cooked through. Taste it to make sure it isn't crunchy - my risotto takes 17 minutes sometimes, but 25 minutes on other days.
• Stir in cheese and serve. I topped mine with some sour cream.

This was so creamy, flavorful, and delicious. I think adding the spices to the broth instead of directly to the rice really helped to infuse the flavors into every bite.

During the day I made a pot of Mexican Corn and Potato Soup. Here is the link for the first time I made it; this time I added about 6 oz of diced, canned tomatoes and just a bit of the juice and was happy with the addition.