Butternut Squash Risotto

Well, this is my third squash post in a row! Can you tell that we had a lot of squash from our farm that we needed to eat?! I decided that we should probably eat something OTHER THAN soup, so I decided to make this risotto. So far, risotto has been one of my favorite types of meal to eat and this one was no exception. YUM! I wonder how it would taste with some sauteed greens mixed in?

Original recipe, here.

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 35 min

Ready In: 45 min

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mashed butternut squash (Easy to mash once you cook it - see previous two recipes for both an oven and microwave method)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 cup rice, cooked in chicken stock
• 2 cups hot chicken stock (I changed the recipe a little because I cooked the rice first, so I'm not 100% sure how much chicken stock I used. I think I used about 2 cups - not including the stock used to cook the rice.)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

**I've started to add sauteed spinach to this as well. I just saute it separately in olive oil and garlic and then add it at the end. Both of my little boys will eat it this way! Yay!**

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.
2. Pour in 1/3 cup chicken stock, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the mashed squash and remaining hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves: 4