I declare! It is now officially fall and therefore time for all things pumpkin! Or almost anyway. It's actually my tradition to treat myself to my first pumpkin spice latte of the season on my birthday (did they come out super early or what this year?!) and since that's not for a few more weeks, here I wait. But not to worry, I'm not really missing out because I've been busy trying out all kinds of other pumpkin based recipes. How about you? Are you on the pumpkin crazy train? I hope you will join me. I'm sure my chili made with pumpkin will sound a little crazy but it's actually so good! It is just like a big 'ole bowl of autumn for you to wrap your chilly hands around!
It was pretty much crazy how the temps dropped from like 90 degrees one day to about 45 the next. I just happened to have this chili on my mind and decided that I would take full advantage of the beautiful day by throwing open some windows, digging out my favorite new sweater and running to the store for the rest of the ingredients for this dinner!
I decided to go with a nice, hearty chili packed full of meat, beans and veggies. Some ground chicken, white kidney beans along with some butternut squash and parsnips. Can you think of anything more fall"ish"?
Speaking of, fall also means race season is back in full swing! I love running for so many reasons! I'm not fast and I don't have any plans to ever to a full marathon but I sure do love the feeling of the race atmosphere at a 10k or half. Training with my friends is great "me" time and I love it. We did one of our favorite races this weekend and the weather was so perfect! I couldn't have asked for a better morning! Plus, we rewarded ourselves with coffee after 🙂
I use my slow cooker year round (obviously) but there is just something about chili season that makes it that much better. Chili's are great because they can just cook away all day, the longer the better! You can have them going for get-togethers and football watching parties and people can just eat when they eat and you don't have to worry about a thing!
So, I'm thinking now it's about time to crack open a pumpkin beer? You in? 😉
Slow Cooker Fall Harvest Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 15 ounces canned white kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ pound parsnips peeled and chopped
- 1 pound butternut squash peeled and chopped
Instructions
- Prep parsnips and squash by peeling the skin and chopping into bite sized chunks
- Brown chicken in skillet over medium high heat until fully cooked
- Add to crock along with remaining ingredients and stir well
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 or until veggies are to desired tenderness
Notes
Nutrition
Loved this! I didn’t have parsnips, so I just increased the amount of butternut squash and I used ground turkey instead of chicken, but it was very well received at my daughter’s pumpkin-themed 2nd birthday party. I did add a few dashes of cinnamon and allspice and thought that they worked well.
Awesome! Glad you loved it!
It was good, but with pumpkin purée and squash I was missing warm spices like cinnamon and cloves. If I make it again, will definitely make those changes.
Those are great ideas, Kristina!
Woh I enjoy your blog posts, saved to favorites!