Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

Main Dishes

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

It’s Wednesday night, and if all goes well, this post will go live on Friday. I’m leaving for San Diego early tomorrow morning for another work conference and thought I’d see how the scheduled post function works! Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be all done with my talk and relaxing by the pool! I’m very excited that I’ll get to see two of my very good friends who live in San Diego, and of course, I’m already looking forward to our meals together at their favorite restaurants. I’m not even entirely dreading the long flight because I know I’ll be fairly well entertained between the TVs on JetBlue and the two new foodie books I got from the library (Spiced and The Omnivore’s Dilemma).

I’ve been meaning to post this risotto recipe for awhile now. My hubby said it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made! We have a little rating system for my blog. Both my hubby and I give every recipe a score, and only those that receive an 8 or above from both of us are posted. And believe me, he’s a tough critic! There are several recipes that he’s given a 5 or 6 that I’ve had to go back and rework before posting. Sometimes he’ll tell me specific ingredients he thinks should be added or subtracted (“mushrooms, it needs mushrooms” or “way too much lime juice”) and sometimes his comments are more general and less helpful (“it’s ok, but nothing special”). I love his honest feedback though, and I think he truly enjoys being quality control. He gave this risotto a 9.5, which is very high for him. This is the kind of dish that we fight over who gets to take the leftovers to work. My favorite part is that it tastes completely indulgent and bad for you, but really isn’t too naughty.

I’ve professed my love of goat cheese before, and knew it would be lovely in a creamy risotto. I added a base layer of flavor with shallots and garlic, and then stuffed it full of zucchini and yellow squash. It’s the perfect summer risotto, and one that I’ll definitely be making again. Ok, off to pack!

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 yellow squashes, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock
4 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan and sauté squash and zucchini until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, melt butter over medium-high heat in a large stockpot. Sauté the shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the rice and stir until well-coated and translucent. Reduce heat to medium and stir in 1 cup of chicken stock. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been absorbed; add another cup and continue in this way until all the chicken stock has been absorbed, for about 30 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese and salt and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Stir in squash and zucchini. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 355 calories, 13g fat, 2.9g fiber, 11.9g protein per serving
Cost: $2.64 per serving

Pear Glazed Salmon with a Potato, Parsnip, and Bacon Hash

Some foods are so versatile that they are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Bacon is definitely one of these ingredients, but I just realized that hash browns also fall into this category. Shreds of crispy golden brown fried potatoes just make everything...

Fiesta Potato Pie

I think casseroles, like meatloaf, tend to get a bad rap, which is sad because not all casseroles contain “cream of whatever” soup - many are quite delicious! It’s been chilly, rainy, and depressing in Boston lately so I decided to cheer myself up by making a savory...

Chicken Sausage Pasta with Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Sometimes I get in a dinner rut and forget how much I enjoy cooking with certain ingredients. I was recently reminded that I hadn’t used chicken sausage in a long time after seeing a few delicious and quick meal recipes on Meghan’s fantastic blog, You’re Gonna Bake It...

Mediterranean Chicken Sausage and Chickpea Skillet

We’re back! Our trip to Lithuania was amazing and I’m going to work on sorting through all our pictures this weekend so I can share a recap with you. There were two things I couldn’t wait to do once we returned home though – one was sleeping in our own bed because we...

Spicy Soba Noodles with Sesame Stick Coated Chicken and Broccoli Slaw

Today’s recipe is brought to you by the letters T and J. I love to gush about the unique products at Trader Joe’s and often find inspiration just wandering their aisles. Last weekend I stumbled upon this prepackaged organic broccoli slaw. I’m not a huge cabbage fan,...

Avocado Chicken Cakes

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Ours was very relaxing. I finally found our ice cream maker and whipped up a yummy strawberry-mango sorbet. We also had a date at Costco (Am I the only one that considers going to Costco together a date?), and came home...

Roasted Rack of Lamb with a Fennel, Artichoke, and Chickpea Mash

Get this, my mom told me today that the reason I didn’t remember having mac & cheese growing up is because I didn’t like it! Apparently I always refused to eat it and would push it away and eat cereal for dinner instead! I mean I know I was an extremely picky...

Roasted Potatoes and Sausages with Green Beans and Mushrooms

I must have been a super good girl this year, because Santa already brought my present! Isn't it pretty? Apolinaras insisted I open my gift early so I could figure out how to use it before we visit the Grand Canyon over the holidays. He’s just the best! We don't know...