Recipes 47 & 48: Black Chili with Butternut Squash with Cornbread

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

 

Results: Y'all I read the recipe before going to the store and somehow missed Swiss chard!  So I made mine w/o.  Still delicious!  And vegan before I put all that cheese on top! :)  Other suggested toppings: diced red onion (YEAH RIGHT!!! Y'all know I don't do raw onion.) & cilantro (we had some... I should've done it).  We also (mom & I) squeezed some lime on top and it was quite good!

Cornbread recipe from the bag

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Combine dry ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into greased (muffin for me) pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. 

Results: Meh. My mom liked it.  I added an extra 3/4 tbsp of sugar and it still wasn't sweet enough for me.  I like my cornbread sweet.

And as a bonus, the next day (aren't all stews/soups/chilis so much better the next day!!? No matter how good they were!  It's awesome!), I had this for breakfast with two eggs over medium. LOVE.  I'm a little egg obsessed so that's why I accidentally focused on those more than the chili... lol