Roasted Butternut Squash and Bean Chili with Swiss Chard

What a fun recipe this turned out to be! I had one butternut squash that had been sitting in the fridge for a week and I didn't want to make a typical soup. I surfed through the internet and found a few recipes, altered and combined some of them and came up with this. The chili has a 'comfort food' feeling, yet its super easy to make. Each serving is low in calories, high in fiber and very high in vitamin A and has a considerable amount of potassium. Hopefully the kids will love it because of all the colors they see in a bowl. My 5 year old loved it!

Makes: 6-8 servings

Calories: About 350 per serving


Ingredients:

3-4 cups Butternut squash (1/4" cubed)
1 large jalapeno (split lengthwise through the middle)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 can roasted, diced tomato
1 can black beans
1 can white beans
1 cup vegetable broth (more if needed/desired)
Chili seasoning powder, as desired
1 bunch swiss chard, roughly chopped (can be substituted with spinach)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a cooking spray (like PAM). Add the butternut squash in a single layer and put it in the oven. Let it roast till squash is soft (but not mushy) and lightly brown, about 20 minutes. Try and flip the squash on the baking sheet half way through. Take out of the oven.

Take a small piece of aluminum foil, form it into a cup and put in the jalapeno. Wrap the foil around it and put that into the oven as well. Take it out 10 minutes later, open the foil and put the opened cup under the broil setting to slightly char the jalapeno. Remove from oven and let it cool. Chop roughly and put aside.



In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the chopped garlic and then the onions. Saute for a few mins, till soft and slightly golden. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the squash, jalapenos and chard. Cook for 15-20 minutes on medium heat (add more vegetable stock if it seems too thick). Add the squash and jalapenos and cook for 5-7 more minutes. Now add the chard and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.






Serve hot in a bowl (with some shredded cheddar cheese on top if you want to entice children to eat it).

Note: I added some extra cumin and salt despite using the chili seasoning. If you cannot find chili seasoning, use the seasonings in one of my previous recipes for chili. You can also use any combination of beans you like.