This chili combines traditional ingredients - diced tomatoes, onion, tomato sauce, and beans - with a few special things to add a kick of flavor. The first special ingredient is a colorful roasted butternut squash:
The second is one 12-ounce beer. Adding beer to chili creates a really nice flavor! To finish out the chili, I add my favorite chili powder - the medium spice version from The Spice House in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago. It has extra kick from cayenne pepper and ancho chili.
Another option is to make this chili vegetarian by leaving out the ground turkey. Either way, this is my favorite winter dinner in a bowl.
Butternut Squash Chili
Yields: 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 75 minutes
Total time: 90 minutes
Ingredients~
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 medium butternut squash
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can chili beans in medium sauce
1 can light kidney beans
2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion
1 can tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon medium chili powder
1 12 ounce beer
How to~
1) Chop butternut squash into cubes. Toss with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
2) While the squash is roasting, chop and saute the onion and ground turkey in 1 tablespoon olive oil until browned. Chop the meat up into small pieces while it cooks.
3) Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and bay leaves. Stir and add 1 Tablespoon medium chili powder.
4) Add 1 {12 ounce} bottle of your favorite beer. {I like to use an IPA or lager}. Turn the heat up and bring the chili to a boil.
5) Stir and turn the heat down to simmer / low. Simmer the chili for 1.5 to 2 hours. Stir at least twice every hour. Add more chili powder to taste, if needed!
Dear Celia, I love vegetarian chili and this looks so good! What a comforting meal and so healthy too. Right up my alley! xo, Catherine
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Catherine!
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