Risotto with Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs

This is my own creation! It was good. I am proud. Had it tonight and both Jon and I devoured it. We paired it with his grilled chicken (marinated in Italian dressing), which was also delicious.  And, there are leftovers for tomorrow night's dinner.  Yay!

Next time, I plan to use stock instead of broth, and also home grown tomatoes for an extra level of yumminess.

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium Roma tomatoes, diced OR 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup canned evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice OR 1 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice
• 1/2 cup light beer
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• Handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, oregano, and flat leaf parsley from our garden)
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Directions
1. Sprinkle tomatoes with 2 T olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Bake on shallow pan at 250° for 45-60 minutes.
3. 30 minutes into the tomato roasting, bring chicken broth and evaporated milk to simmer in small saucepan.
4. Reduce heat to low and keep broth/milk hot.
5. Heat other 2 T of olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat.
6. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
7. Add rice and stir 3 minutes.
8. Add beer and cook until liquid evaporates.
9. Continue cooking until rice is tender but still slightly firm in center and mixture is creamy, adding chicken broth/milk 1 cup at a time and stirring almost constantly, about 20 minutes.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Add  butter and stir until incorporated.
12. Stir in  Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, and roasted tomatoes.
13. Season risotto to taste with salt and pepper.