Dinner in a pinch

What do you do if your mom calls at noon and invites herself and your aunt over for dinner?
You don't have much on hand -- too busy to grocery shop lately -- you've promised your kids a trip to the park and then there is t-ball practice at 5 p.m. You won't be home until 6 and the idea of whipping something up at 6:30 to be eaten after 7, while the kids claw at you crying about how hungry they are isn't something you want to deal with right now.
I have a big box of risotto that is in the pantry, so I figured I'd google to see if I can put that in the crockpot. Bingo!
Here it is, the easiest supper that will gain you tons of applause..
1.25 cups uncooked risotto
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
3.75 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper
1 cup canned pumpkin
Put all that in the crockpot on high for about 2 hours.
Then, give it a stir and add about 1/2 cup fresh parm. Cook another 20 minutes or so.

So, we went to the park and played. Stopped at the market for some frozen garlic bread and a bagged salad. Came home and put all of the dinner stuff in the crockpot. Kids watched an episode of spongebob while I madly tried to straighten up a bit. Hit the restroom and headed out to t-ball practice. Got home about 6:10. Kids played and I threw in the garlic bread, tossed the salad and put out some cheese and crackers. Mom and Aunt Mo arrived right at 6:30.
Dinner was super yummy. Now, they could have been pulling my leg because they gave me such short notice and didn't expect much, but I actually thought it was tasty. So, give it a try. You probably have almost everything sitting in your kitchen.
Mom brought dessert and a bottle of wine.

It was so nice to get another visit with Aunt Mo. She goes back to Maryland on Thursday, so this was my last chance to see her this year. She's 86 now, so we don't know how much longer travel will be in the cards -- which is why it wasn't really out of line for Mom to push to invite them to dinner. Normally I would have invited them, but we saw them for a party a week ago and they've been "booked' ever since. I've been so busy that I didn't really think about it. I'm glad it worked out.