Shrimp Risotto

Risotto makes it sound fancy, but it's pretty easy (and delicious!).  I made this for dinner last night.

Here's the recipe as it appeared in my Taste of Home magazine:

1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter
1 3/4 cups uncooked instant rice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth
1 lb. peeled and deveined cooked medium shrimp
2 cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. 2% milk

In large skillet, saute onion in buter until tender.  Add the rice, garlic, basil and pepper; cook 2 minutes longer.  Stir in one can of broth.  Cook and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly.  Allow liquid to absorb between additions.  Cook until risotto is creamy and rice is tender.

Stir in remaining ingredients; cook and stir until spinach is wilted and shrimp are heated through.
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Now, here are my variations.........I used water instead of chicken broth and it still came out tasty.  The chicken broth will just add a little more flavor to the rice for you.  I also used peas instead of corn (I'm sure your favorite veggie would work fine) and did not put in a tomato.  I used whole milk instead of 2%, made just a tad creamier.  I also used brown rice instead of white to keep it healthier.  And you can buy a bag of frozen baby shrimp that are already cooked, deveined and tail-off so all you have to do is defrost and use.  As I was making this, I thought it might be a little easier/faster if you're in a hurry to cook the rice the traditional way and then mix everything together in a skillet.  The basic idea and flavors of the dish should still come through.