It may not be full and lush.
It might spend 11 months out of the year crammed in a cardboard box in the basement.
It may reek of synthetic highly flammable materials.
But it's ours. And I am nothing if not nostalgic for all the ornaments on the tree. Won't you stay for a quick tour?
First came hubs and his li'l baby boy ornament. 1981. Woof. Old.
Then 3 years later came my first Christmas.
Love this.
Heck yes, Beauty & the Beast ornament.
My homemade ornament.
My husband's homemade (censored) anatomically incorrect ornament. BOYS.
Mexican painted ornament bought on our honeymoon. Kind of a buzzkill when I got home and found the "Made in China" sticker.
Awww, baby's first Christmas.
So that's that. I can't wait 'til the day that Mac comes home with a homemade ornament he made in Sunday school. Not looking forward to the day when he thinks fake blood, genitalia, poop, etc. are appropriate holiday decor.
BOYS.
Anyway. With the Christmas stuff all set up, I've been in the mood for comfort food. I've had a need for things with seed.
Wait, scrap that last one.
I found a recipe on CookingLight.com and I was super jazzed to make it- butternut squash risotto. Buuuut upon reading the instructions I saw it called for a pressure cooker.
Sorry, but pressure cookers scare the bejeezus outta me. And I'm pretty sure they're expensive. I adapted this to be stovetop and it worked just fine.
Butternut Squash & Mushroom Risotto
- 4 cups butternut squash, cut into 1"-ish cubes
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped baby portobella mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup white cooking wine
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (short grain)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1. Heat your oven to 425 degrees. Spread squash cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with two tablespoons olive oil. Stir to coat. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until starting to brown.
2. Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add oil and garlic. Once that sizzles, add mushrooms and stir for 1 minute. Add rice. Stir for 5 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup of broth. Stir continuously until liquid has been absorbed. Add another cup of broth. Stir continuously until liquid has been absorbed. Keep doing this. Stirring is your workout today- forget the treadmill.
4. How's about you go check out that pan of squash? Maybe stir it up so the cubes get cooked evenly.
5. Hope you didn't forget about stirring.
6. After you've added all four cups of broth, and it has been subsequently soaked up, go ahead and turn off the heat. By now the squash should be done. Stir in to rice & mushroom mix. Add Parmesan and pepper. Stir until combined. Serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 400 calories, 12 grams protein.
This recipe is easily tweak-able. You could sub onions or asparagus for the mushrooms, and feel free to add as much or as little squash as you'd like.
I went light on the fungi. I'm just not that into 'shrooms, man.
Stirring all this risotto will burn 83 calories.
Roasted squash
Ta da! Maybe next week, if you're lucky, I'll give you a tour of our mantel.
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