Rice Cooker Dumpling Squash & Arugula Risotto

This recipe is thanks to an Instagram challenge by Jennifer Tyler Lee, the creator of Crunch a Color® (the awesome healthy eating game). Her new book 52 New Foods is more than a cookbook - it has a healthy new food for every week of the year plus recipes and activities for each week. It is available for pre-order now and will be released on Tuesday. I can't wait!

I have never used dumpling squash before and my girls have rarely had arugula. I decided to create a risotto, we normally do soup or salad with squash around here. The result is an easy (throw it in the rice cooker) recipe that is so yummy my girls were gobbling it up and asking for seconds before I could even serve the grown-ups. Thanks for the challenge Jennifer!

Dumpling Squash and Arugula Risotto
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
2 tbsp Butter or Olive Oil
1/2 - 1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
Seeds from 1 small Vanilla Bean (optional)
pinch Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 Dumpling Squash (a small butternut or medium acorn could substitute)
1 cup fresh Arugula, washed and patted dry
2 cups uncooked Rice (THIS is my favorite but any will work in this recipe), rinsed
4 cups Water or Low Sodium Veggie Stock 

Set your rice cooker on warm (or similar non-cooking setting). Add the oils, salt and spices. Wash and peel the squash (Even with squash that has edible skin you want to remove it for this recipe). Cut squash open and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into (about) 1/2 inch cubes. Add the cubes, arugula, rice and water or stock to the rice cooker. Set the rice cooker to cook and let the magic happen! When the rice cooker is finished you will have a creamy risotto. Stir and serve immediately.  Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer.  Enjoy!