Bean-less Chili

I am not from Texas, I just prefer not to fart as much. Hence— bean-less chili. I have however, substituted the beans for butternut squash because it is fall and winter squash is all the rage right now. Gives you a bit of the creamy texture you get from beans without having to blame it on the dog later. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, diced

• 2 lbs grass fed ground beef

• 1 onion, diced

• 3 carrots, diced

• 3 stalks of celery, diced

• 2 Anaheim peppers, seeds removed, diced.

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 Tbs. Tomato paste

• 1 Tbs. ground Cumin

• 2 tsp. oregano

• 2 tsp. smoked paprika

• 1/3 cup chili powder

• 2 cans or jars of tomato sauce

• 1/2 cup beef broth

• salt to taste

• pepper to taste

• cilantro for garnish

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Peel and dice butternut squash, toss with oil, salt, pepper, and place in oven for about 25 minutes or until tender.

2. Sauté ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat

3. add in onion, celery, carrots, peppers, and garlic. Stir.

4. Add the rest of the spices to the mixture and season with salt and pepper.

5. Add in tomato paste and sauté with the rest of the ingredients.

6. Stir in tomato sauce, and beef broth. ( You can add more or less depending on how thick you want your chili. ) Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the roasted butternut squash. Serve garnished with fresh chopped cilantro.