Steve, your method is essentially the one I've been using for yonks, only using long grain rice, for a superbly adaptable recipe with the family name of "Rice Thing" (but I accept that a proper job demands proper risotto rice).

There is, as you say, no substitute for Real Chicken Stock. A pressure cooker is a useful weapon to have in the kitchen armoury here - the boiling time is cut to 40 minutes.