DIY recipes

I've had a butternut squash staring me down for weeks. And I picked up some shiitake mushrooms earlier this week. I kept looking at one or the other and thought, instinctively, those two would go good together. In a risotto. I have no idea where this brain noise came from, but I found recipes for it. Unfortunately, I didn't have more than half the ingredients. So I improvised, which is totally punk.rustic.

1 medium butternut squash
2 c. water
2 chicken boullion cubes
3 T. butter
1/2 of a vidalia onion, chopped
1 package shiitake mushrooms, chopped
good sprinking of thyme
salt and pepper
1 cup rice (preferably arborio, but I only had jasmine on hand)
1 tbsp honey
1 can cream of chicken soup
parmesan cheese


Halve and roast the butternut squash for 40 or so minutes at 400˚. Meanwhile, chop the onion, and clean, stem, and chop the mushrooms. Dissolve the boullion cubes in hot water. Melt the butter over medium heat; add onions and cook a couple of minutes, or til they start to soften. Add mushrooms and thyme; stir around a couple more minutes until the mushrooms have taken on the butter and darkened a bit. Add the salt, pepper, and uncooked rice. Saute for a few more minutes; put boullion on to boil. Add rice mixture to boiling boullion mixture. Add about half the squash to cook down and a tsp. of honey. Cover and let cook, but give it a stir now and then. You may have to add more water.

Add the cream chicken soup once it's close to done and uncover it. Add the rest of the squash. Heat through. Add parmesan to taste. You're done!

This is totally vegetarianable by using a veggie stock and a real cream mixture. And it would definitely gain from some wine being added. But *someone* I know had... thirds! and the picky eater in the house gobbled it right up!