I decided to give soup mixes to some people as Christmas gifts. When you make a soup mix, you use dried beans. I have never tried soup mixes with dried beans. I thought they would be difficult to make. And then I discovered...I don't remember where, that you can make beans in a Crock Pot. While beans can be cooked directly and eaten, they are easier to digest if you soak them first, then cook them. And who knew, you can soak up to 2 cups dried beans in a 3 quart crock pot overnight for yummy beans the next day! 2 cups dried makes 5-6 cups cooked. So after realizing how easy dried beans were...here is a recipe for Butternut Chili. It is vegetarian, but feel free to add meat if you want.
Butternut Chili
Ingredients:
1 cup mixed dry beans (I used kidney, cranberry, and great northern)
1 small diced butternut squash (about 1 cup)
1 lg carrot, diced
4-6 cups V8 or other tomato juice
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp thyme
Cheese, sour cream, and cornbread for serving
Directions:
Soak beans in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Add the beans and fill 2/3 way full with water. Drain beans into colander. Rinse crock pot. Return beans to crock pot. Add butternut, carrot, V8 and spices. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Stir once while cooking and before serving. Serve over cornbread if desired. Top with cheese and sour cream.
If you want to add meat, reduce beans by 1/3 c. dry. Brown 1/2 lb. ground beef, turkey, pork, or chicken. Drain. Add to crock pot with butternut.
Enjoy!
