An autumn dish, Butternut Squash Chili

Well, its that time of year. Always bittersweet for me, autumn is officially beginning. I picked up my last share of vegetables from the CSA today, and went to work with a decidedly fall dish, Butternut Squash Chili. The recipe is based on this one from Bon Appetit.

I subbed a few ingredients--canned beans instead of dry (original recipe called for an entire POUND of dry beans....I think that would make enough chili to eat until next spring!) I also used a mix of kidney and black as opposed to all black. Ro*tel instead of diced tomatoes, and base chili powder spices instead of prepared chili powder.

From the CSA, I had a ton of these mini butternut squashes. So cute! Such a pain to peel ;) If you get a pile of these, make sure the music on the radio is good because you'll be working on them for the next hour or so...

Peppers, also from the CSA. I chose to crush the garlic instead of mincing it, because I hate eating a big chunk of garlic unexpectedly. This way I can just fish it out.

Mix beans, rinsed.

Okay--this was my mistake. I should have stuck to just 1-2 of these....not 5. Or should have left whole and fished out in the end, not diced. These puppies made my chili molten hot! There will be no clogged sinus issues in the house of Tavolini, I assure you :)

Add bulgur wheat and simmer for 30 minutes.

I really like the addition of bulgur to this! I think I have found a new "chewy" grain to add to my stews and chilis this fall. Sour cream was a necessity, to counter the extremely spicy chiles. All in all, this is a pretty good recipe. I really like the sweetness that the squash adds.


I'll miss you, summer!