butternut squash risotto

risotto, as some of you have probably learned, has become one of my staples especially because it is so yucky outside. i decided it was time to experiment with butternut squash. i kind of cheated though--i went to trade joe's and bought the kind that comes in a plastic bag so i don't have to deal with peeling it, and cubing it. lazy, i know....and i'm definitely going to do it again! haha.

i just kind of made things up as i went along, but first i roasted the squash in the oven for about 25 minutes with some olive oil, salt and pepper on it. then i cooked up some bacon with onions, put that aside, and threw the arborio into the pan. after the rice cooked for a bit, i added in the squash and mashed it up and then eventually added in the onions, bacon and some argula i had on hand.

i think my proportions were a bit off...haha. next time i'll definitely add in TWO bags of squash and then reduce it from 3 to 2 slices of bacon. the bacon was a bit more powerful than i would've liked it to be, but i was still a happy camper eating the leftovers for lunch today :)

pre-roasting


onions and bacon made my kitchen smell AMAZING!


the dish is starting to come together...


et voila!