We just celebrated Alexander’s Ninth Birthday with a small family Covid-19 precautions, outdoor, masks on party. Since we were outdoors in October and the temperature was 58 degrees, I wanted to serve something I could put in my large crockpot to serve hot. I love beef chili! More importantly I love making beef chili! Everyone’s got there go to recipe and mine is beef chili. 

This time I wanted to make it special and seasonal for my number 1 little man, Alexander. We had started a garden this summer. It was a great learning experience. I can’t say we produced much compared to all the work we did. Our corn was destroyed by Hurricane Isaias. The critters ate most of our tomatoes. We got only 1 eggplant per plant. Our Summer Squash blossomed tons but no squash. Finally our butternut squash yielded some big beautiful squash which was still hanging on the vine. I decided to celebrate our harvest in the chili and make it autumnal. 

I must say it was rather delicious and garnered rave reviews from all.

Enjoy!

Avec Amour, Victoria & Alexander

Butternut Squash Beef Chili

 

2 Pounds Ground Beef

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Large Onions, chopped

2 Stalks Celery, sliced

2 Carrots, sliced 

2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Kosher or Table Salt

1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes

1 14.5 oz Can Diced Tomatoes or Tomato Sauce

2 15.5 oz Cans Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed with cold water

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into ½” chunks

 

1.Over medium high heat brown ground beef in a 4 quart saucepan, drain off excess grease and remove beef from the saucepan to a plate covered with a double thickness of paper towel, return saucepan to stove.

2. Over medium heat add olive oil and sauté onions until golden brown, add carrots and cook for 5 minutes then add celery and cook until tender,

add spices, salt and pepper, stir and heat spices to bring out their flavor, add crushed tomatoes and stir, add diced tomatoes and beans, stir, bring to a boil, cover saucepan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, add butternut squash

and cook for another 15 minutes or until butternut squash is tender stirring occasionally. 

 

Serve with sour cream, chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese. This goes great with cornbread look out for the upcoming Southwest Cornbread recipe.

 

Notes

This is a mild chili, if you prefer heat use 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper instead. This is also much better if you make it ahead of time and reheat. I made it in the morning and by night the flavors had developed. It is even better the next day. Add a little water if the chili gets too thick for your liking.