A Celebration of Vegetables: A Recipe for Winter Squash Risotto (Podcast #127)

by The Meal Makeover Moms on December 19th, 2010

We’ve done a lot of live TV interviews in our day and we’ve held a lot of cooking classes, but we’ve never cooked “live” online … until this week.  Thanks to Ustream technology, last Wednesday, December 15th at 1:00pm EST, we spent 30 fast-paced minutes sharing clever tips and easy recipes to inspire a love for vegetables, and our demo aired live on the new Birds Eye Facebook fan page. Pretty cool stuff!

Behind the scenes at the Tipping Point Labs studio, the director calls the shots.

Cameras, lighting, food styling by Kelly Upson, makeup by Phoebe Ramier: It took a lot of amazing cooks in this kitchen to pull the production together!

We were excited to team up with Birds Eye because they definitely share our goal of helping families get more veggies on the table. Did you know that  according to a new report from the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance, 90% of young children don’t eat their recommended amount of vegetables?  We’d love to change that statistic, so during the show, we cooked up two easy, kid-friendly dishes. The first was our Cheesy Spinach Bake from No Whine with Dinner featuring frozen chopped spinach and the second, a recipe from Birds Eye for Winter Squash Risotto. As we cooked, viewers were able to ask questions (which we answered live on the air), and we also talked about some of the proactive mealtime tips from our book for getting kids excited about eating a wider array of vegetables. If you missed the demo, you can watch it on Ustream TV or listen to us talk all about it on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast.

Winter Squash Risotto

Makes 6 Servings

This rich and creamy risotto is perfect as a side dish. To turn it into a spectacular holiday-inspired main dish, simply top it with grilled shrimp or chicken.

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1½ cups dry arborio rice
  • 4 slices nitrite-free bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 4½ cups hot chicken broth (and 1/2 to 1 cup additional water as needed)
  • 1 box Birds Eye® Cooked Winter Squash (12 ounce), thawed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

1. Heat oil in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add rice, bacon, and sage, and stir to coat with oil. Ladle 1/2 cup hot broth into the rice; cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition absorb before adding the next.

3. When there is 1 cup broth remaining, stir in the squash. Continue cooking, adding remaining broth and additional water as needed, until rice is creamy yet firm. Stir in butter and Parmesan cheese.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with parsley as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving:  320 calories, 11g fat (3.5g saturated), 530mg sodium, 46g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 9g protein, 60% vitamin A, 20% vitamin C, 10% calcium

Print Recipe

Tip 1 … Take 1 … Action!

As you may know, when it comes to vegetables, our philosophy is to make them highly visible on the plate … not concealed or hidden within the meal. If vegetables are a tough sell with kids, we have plenty of strategies to wow them. During the demo, we talked about three of our favorites:

Meal Plan as a Family: Have the kids help with the weekly meal planning. Let each child take ownership of one night with a recipe they choose, help shop for and help cook. Our Stuffed Spinach and Cheese Pizza (No Whine with Dinner, page 75) is a dish the kids will gladly help make!

Theme Nights: Once a week, pick a theme for dinner. Try Mexican Night, Picnic Night, or Asian Cooking Night. For this dish, we steamed up a bag of frozen veggie medley — broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts — then tossed it with lite teriyaki sauce. Have the kids sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top.

Celebrate Colors: With dishes like our Over-the-Rainbow Brown Rice (No Whine with Dinner, page 142), have your kids take turns calling out a color at the dinner table. Once they choose a color from their plate, have everyone take a bite of whatever color was chosen. Yell “green” for peas, “orange” for carrots, and “yellow” for corn. Before you know it, they’ll have three bites down the hatch.

The Ustream demo was a blast, and we can’t wait to hear what you all thought of it. In the meantime, between now and December 31st, if you “Like” the Birds Eye Facebook fan page, $1.00 will be donated to Share Our Strength, an organization dedicated to providing nutritious food to families in need. It’s all part of an effort to feed kids better!

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7 Comments | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Dinner, GivingBack, Holidays, NoWhineWithDinner, PickyEaters, Podcast, Sides, Vegetables 

7 Responses to “A Celebration of Vegetables: A Recipe for Winter Squash Risotto (Podcast #127)”

  1. Andrew Davis on December 19th, 2010

    Hey Gang,
    Thanks so much for coming by the studio last week to do the shoot. We had a great time meeting you and working with you. The webcast went great!

    Thanks again for including us!
    - Drew

  2. Kim C. on December 21st, 2010

    You guys look great. How exciting to do a webcast. Can’t wait to try the risotto. Love those gluten free side dishes!!!

  3. Cindy Silver, MS, RD, LDN on December 21st, 2010

    Very nice job in your webcast last week. I, too, am a big fan of frozen veggies and keep a major supply in my freezer at all times. You just never know when you’ll need a red, green, or yellow boost at the dinner table. Thanks for helping so many busy families eat healthier, at home!

  4. Darnell on December 22nd, 2010

    the Risotto looks yummy. I can’t wait to prepare it for dinner tonight.

  5. Amy on December 22nd, 2010

    I loved the live demo! I always want to take cooking classes, but it’s so hard for me to schedule things out of the house. This was perfect for my schedule and access!
    Love the cookbook too! We’ve already tried three dinners from it, and all were a hit with the kids!

  6. Michele on February 8th, 2011

    I would like to make this for dinner Friday, but do not have time Friday to prepare. Any thoughts on making Thursday night and warming Friday? Thank you so much for all you do- I listen every week and have both cookbooks. Oh- I am also making the sweet potato fries from the 2nd cookbook Friday, but those I will prepare fresh!

  7. Liz on February 9th, 2011

    Hi Michele:
    You can make the risotto the night before. You may want to add a bit more broth when you reheat it. So glad you’re enjoying our new cookbook! If/when you get a moment, we’d be thrilled if you could post a review to Amazon! Keep us posted on your cooking adventures …

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