Squash risotto

We had squash risotto last week when we had the in-laws over for dinner.  I was searching for a recipe and everything had ingredients I didn't want or have, or had specific measurements when I wanted to use a whole squash and onion, or it sounded like it would taste like something I wasn't in the mood for.  So, I came up with my own recipe.  And by recipe, I mean that I just threw stuff together and didn't have exact measurements.

First I took a butternut squash (a holiday gift from my mom - we still have a few more squash (squashes?) in the cold room), cut in half to remove the seeds, poked it with a few fork holes, and microwaved it for about 5 minutes.  I peeled it and cubed it.  I figured that if I wanted there to be squash chunks then I wouldn't want it cooked all the way in the microwave.  If I'd been in the mood for a smoother risotto, I would have pureed the squash, or at least cut it very small.

While that's in the microwave, chop up a medium onion and caramelize it in a bit of olive oil.  Once it's good and caramelized, put 2 1/2 cups of rice in the pan and make sure that it gets covered in the oil.  If you need to add more oil, do that.  Or, you could add a pat of butter like I did.  Then put that in the slow cooker, along with your squash chunks/puree.  Add 6 cups of broth.  We pack our broth in 2 cup and 4 cup sizes for the freezer, so I just grabbed one of each and put the frozen broth right in the slow cooker after I melted it enough to break it up a bit.

Put your slow cooker on high for three hours.  I was thinking of adding salt and pepper but instead I thought that a bit of fresh grated nutmeg would do the trick.  I don't know how much was put in there because my MIL put it in, but it really made the dish.  We'll be doing this one again.