Pumpkin Chili

I've always enjoyed pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day.  And that's pretty much it as far as cooking with pumpkin goes.  Recently though, I've discovered some of pumpkin's health benefits and made it a mission to find other ways to incorporate pumpkin into our diet.  Pumpkin is a sweet variety of winter squash and a single 1-cup serving contains almost double the Recommended Daily Value of beta-carotene, not to mention good stuff like vitamin C, niacin, phosphorous, potassium, and fiber.  For an article containing nutritional information on pumpkin and other varieties of winter squash (as well as some cooking tips and ideas), click here.

And now, without further delay, my first foray into cooking with pumpkin: pumpkin chili!

 Look at all those colors!  I just love colorful food, don't you?

Recipe: (from Spark Recipes)
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
45 oz. pinto beans
15 oz. black beans
15 oz. canned pumpkin (stock up now... grocery stores will run low as Thanksgiving gets closer!)
15 oz. corn (1 can)
10 oz. Rotel tomatoes
1 jar of your favorite salsa
1 zucchini chopped fine
2-3 tbl. chili powder to taste
chopped garlic and onion to taste (I used 3 cloves garlic and half a large onion)
1 tbl. dark Cocoa powder (adds a Mexican mole flavor as well as beneficial antioxidants)

 Saute beef in a large pot and drain any extra fat although there will be very little to drain if you are using extra lean.  Add onions, garlic, and zucchini and saute for another 1-2 minutes.

Then add the remaining ingredients.  Stir well.  Simmer on low for several hours.  (I started mine around noon and kept it going until dinner at 6.  The house smelled AMAZING all day!)

Serve with desired toppings; suggestions include sour cream, cheese, green onions, oyster crackers, or tortilla chips.

Nutritional Information: (12 servings)
Calories: 260.0
Total Fat: 7.6 g
Cholesterol: 26.1 mg
Sodium: 490.5 mg
Total Carbs: 34.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 10.3 g
Protein: 16.5 g

(And just think about how many servings of vegetables you're getting in one meal!)

Verdict:
I was nervous about this recipe for several reasons.  One, I am very used to and fond of the chili recipe my mom has been using for years.  Ask her - I don't like change.  Two, this is clearly an unusual use of pumpkin, so I wasn't sure how that would impact the taste.  Three, the recipe contained zucchini, and I pretty much only eat zucchini in zucchini bread, which hardly counts.  But.....  Wowza!  This one is a winner!  It is a delightful blend of spicy with just a hint of sweetness.  The sweetness comes a bit from the pumpkin (although if I didn't know pumpkin was in there, I wouldn't have guessed), a bit from the zucchini (which I loved!), and a lot from the corn.  It's pleasing to the senses of sight and smell too.  And it got hubby's approval considering he inhaled his bowl before I could even tell him pumpkin was the secret ingredient.  I won't be giving up my mom's chili recipe, but this will definitely make it into the fall-winter dinner rotation as long as canned pumpkin is readily available.

(The only change I made was of necessity.  I ran out of chili powder before quite getting to two tablespoons, so I added a bit of cumin to round out the spiciness.)