Chicken & Mushroom Risotto

 Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 chicken breast, seasoned with salt & pepper, cooked (I boiled the chicken in water) then cut or shredded into bitesized pieces
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup grated parmigiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/2 C water (may not need)

 What you do:

1. Cook the chicken before proceeding with the next steps.  Chop up the mushrooms and shallots.
2. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken broth and 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat to low.  
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is rippling, add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 minutes. Add the rice and toast (and stir occasionally) for 3 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.  Begin sautéing the mushrooms & parsley in butter and olive oil at the same time as the next step. 
4. Add 2 ladles of the warm chicken broth to the rice and stir until the liquid evaporates. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take about 20 minutes. (I ended up having to add an additional 1/2 C water at the end to get the rice soft enough. If you need to add much more than 1/2 C, I would use broth as opposed to water to maintain flavour).
5. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, stir in the mushrooms; season with thyme, salt and pepper to taste. During the last minute of cooking, stir in the cheese and butter.