Try Butternut Squash for Dinner!

Want to incorporate your favorite fall garden veggies into a healthy, autumn meal your whole family will enjoy? Look no further than the butternut squash growing heartily in your garden this time of year. These squash are not only heart healthy, but easy and delicious to cook with. One of our favorite butternut squash fall recipes is Butternut Squash Risotto.

This yummy fall dinner only has 250 calories per serving and is great for keeping your cholesterol in check (especially because the holidays are just around the corner!) What’s better than a healthy, satisfying meal for cooler weather? Nothing we can think of! Here’s the great recipe we have for this fantastic dinner:

---

Recipe: Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, medium size


• 1 cup risotto


• 2 teaspoons ginger, fresh, fine minced


• 1 shallot, small, minced


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 3 cups chicken broth


• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded


• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Slice squash in half, lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Coat the squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for 20-30 mins in the oven on a sheet pan with the cut side facing up.

Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat and add risotto. Dry sauté for 5 minutes. Add the shallot and ginger and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sauté for 3 more minutes.

As the risotto is cooking in the sauté pan, get a small stock pot and add 3 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Begin ladling 3 ounces of chicken broth to the sauté pan at a time, swirling each addition of the broth into the risotto. Add all of the broth to the sauté pan and let it cook until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.

Remove the squash from the oven. Scoop the squash from the shell with a large spoon. If the squash is too hot to handle you can wait for it to cool a bit before scooping. Rough dice the squash and set aside.

Fold in squash and 4 ounces of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.