Butternut Squash Risotto

This risotto was sooo good!  I was just playing around with new ways to use butternut squash.  I love it, but I don't always want to use it in the same old recipes every time.  I love figuring out new recipes that taste good, are healthy, and that the whole family loves.  Yay!

Jeff hates white rice (too sticky and mushy) so I used brown rice.  I liked the way the risotto turned out with it.  Not complete mush, but still soft.  Healthier with brown rice too.  If you're a purist you could use the traditional arborio rice,

This dish was great for the to eat.  Liam loves rice and squash, so he had no problems eating it (although he DID freak out for a while after he dropped his plate on the way to the table), and Jack is going through a MASSIVE independent phase where he refuses help eating.  The risotto is sticky enough to stay on a spoon pretty well, but not so sticky the the kids hands were a mess.  Jack ate about half his bowl full with his spoon, then gave up and tried to drink the rest.  :)

Bonus of making risotto?  I can see the TV from my stove, and I got to binge on Netflix while making dinner.  :)  This dish really didn't need a lot of close attention, just absent mindedly stirring, so I didn't have to worry so much about messing it up.

Butternut Squash Risotto
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 48 oz chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 medium butternut squash, small cubes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• salt
• black pepper
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 spoonful of sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Cover a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper and lay the cubed squash in an even layer on top.  Drizzle with 2 tsp of olive oil, and a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Bake for about 45 minutes, until squash is soft with lightly golden edges.
2. Dice the onion and garlic and saute on medium heat in a large pot with the remaining olive oil, and a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and soft.
3. Add the rice and broth to the pot.  Leave the pot alone for about 20 minutes or so.  When the rice has absorbed most of the broth start stirring.  You'll be doing this pretty often from this point on.  Either stirring or watching the pot to see if it needs to be stirred.  When the squash is ready dump it into the pot.  Add the thyme and cayenne and stir everything together.  Taste and add more seasonings if needed.  When the rice is soft enough and the broth has been absorbed, the risotto is ready to remove from heat.  Serve immediately. 

note: some squash is sweeter than others.  If your squash isn't very sweet you might want to add a spoonful of sugar to your risotto.  Just stir it right in.