Autumn-ish Chili

When I embarked upon the South Beach diet well over a year ago, I decided to be a bit more open-minded about food.  This meant I needed to be willing to step outside of my comfort zone and try certain food that I wouldn't give even half a chance to previously.

I've eaten spaghetti squash, butternut squash, salmon, sushi...heck, I even tried mussels on my vacation!  Prior to this weekend I've never tried acorn squash.  Though I never had an attitude against it, mind you, I was intimidated as to how to cook it.  Pumpkin is another story.  I have had a total attitude problem regarding it for years.  A few weeks ago, older sister Cathy made some kind of a pumpkin cake which had Jillian's protein powder in it and was very low calorie and actually quite delicious.  Then there is Lindsay from Pancakes N Pajamas - this girl posts recipes all the time with pumpkin (one might argue that she has a slight pumpkin obsession - ha)!  So, last week she posted a Pumpkin Turkey Chili recipe and I just knew I had to suck it up and try it.

Then, courtesy of that ridiculous article from Marie Claire, I was introduced to some other blogs I had never even heard of before so...um...Thanks, Marie Claire for making me curious and finding 6 more blogs I now love to read.  I guess whatever they were hoping to achieve missed its mark entirely, by the way.

Anyway, Heather and Mark from Hangry Pants posted a recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash Chili, so I decided to sorta take elements from the Roasted Acorn Squash Chili and elements from the Pumpkin Turkey Chili and then add in some creative license to make my own Autumn-ish Chili.

So here is the recipe I came up with:

1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 yellow onion - diced
1 stalk of celery - sliced
1 can of black beans
2 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1 can of pumpkin
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP cinnamon
2 TBSP cumin
3 TBSP chili powder
1 acorn squash (olive oil and a bit of cinnamon)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut acorn squash in half.  Remove seeds.  Drizzle squash with olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Once oven is ready, place in oven (on a pan) for 45 minutes.  Brown ground turkey with the onion in a skillet.  I seasoned this with my Adobo and some cinnamon, but you can use whatever suits your fancy.  In a large pot, go ahead and get the party started by dumping the cans of tomatoes, black beans, pumpkin, and celery all together.  Add in your garlic, cinnamon, cumin, and chili powder.  Once the turkey and onions are ready, add them in.  Once the acorn squash is done roasting, allow it to cool and then cut into 1" to 2" cubes.  You can opt to remove the skin or leave it on (I left it on).  Add the squash to the chili.

Dress up your chili however you like.  I, of course, used Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream for better nutritional content.  I left the cheese off this chili (rare for me, I know), but somehow the autumn-ish feel of it just didn't seem to need it.  I did add a bit of Cholula as recommended by Lindsay (and because I am in love with Cholula).

If it sounds a bit weird to you at first, you may want to give it a whirl anyway.  I have to admit this dish was out of my comfort zone, but I do love it and will totally make it again!  Happy Fall every body!!!