Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Devon's Cooking...Award-Winning Butternut Squash Chili

Award-winning? What award, Devon? The International Chili Society's Annual Cookoff? The Chili Appreciation Society International Cookoff?

Well, hmmm... no, nothing so elementary as those cookoffs. Today, I placed second (out of two entries, but, hey, I got me a medal!) in the 2nd Annual Grossmont College Chili Cook-off! Kudos to our President for whipping up a mean soy-rizo chili to beat my chili down, but I heard some good thoughts about my Butternut Squash Chili, as well. I also made this for 3 hungry men (and Ronna and Jen and I) on Sunday and made football-watchin' guys pretty happy and satiated... so this chili satisfies!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHILI with QUESO FRESCO

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound) (you can buy this pre-cut at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods...much easier!)
2 16 oz. cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1 teaspoon salt
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled queso fresco

Directions: Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and cumin; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Add butternut squash and next 6 ingredients (through chiles). Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until vegetables are tender and chili is thick. Sprinkle with cheese.

1 comment:

  1. Wow! Congrats on the big win! :) Sounds yummy, I need to try this recipe out!

    ReplyDelete