Autumn Harvest Chili

I've been horrible at keeping up with this thing. My evenings already seem to be too short between making dinner, showering, and keeping up with the cleaning and laundry. Before I know it, I have to head to bed so I can get up the next morning again. But I've been meaning to post this recipe for a while now. Again, it was one that I made before I started the blog, so I don't have pictures of the finished product. It's another random Rachel Ray recipe that I came across one day. Autumn Harvest Chili isn't like most chili recipes, as for it called for a ton of veggies, minimal beans, and not a speck of meat in it. Whether or not its a chili for you, I can't say. You'll just have to try it out later yourself.

Ingredients
2 small butternut squash, cut in half and seeded
4 tablespoons EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
Salt and ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered
2 small zucchini, diced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 10-ounce box frozen corn
1 14-ounce can black beans, drained
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 lager beer, as needed -- I used a Stella for it, so Shyne could drink the other 5 from the 6 pack :)
2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Place butternut squash cut side up on a baking sheet and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons EVOO and some salt and pepper. Roast squash in oven until tender, about 45 minutes. When they've finished roasting, turn off the oven and turn on the broiler.

While the squash is in the oven, place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, mushrooms and zucchini to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until the veggies are tender, about 7 minutes.

Add the spices, corn, black beans and tomato paste to the pan and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the beer to the pan (start with about half the bottle and add more as needed -- you want a thicker chili) and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Scoop the finished chili over the butternut squash halves and sprinkle with the cheese. Place the squash under the broiler to melt the cheese then serve.

I couldn't find any butternut sqaush when I made this and got acorn instead. I think it turned out great. Ours pretty much looked like the pictures online of it. Just wish I could prove it to you all!

By the way, I'm supposed to be featuring a new chili recipe on here, but they still have yet to get it tom me. You know who you are. I can't mention it though until I've made it and tasted it myself. Along with that, I'm hoping to make Mom's FAMOUS POTATO SOUP today!!! I'll be sure to take pictures! :)