Savory, pumpkin-apple chicken chili

Fall is my favorite season of the year. Cool air. Vibrant trees. Leaves dancing in the streets. And best of all, pumpkins and apples!

When asked to demo another recipe at the Springfield Farmer's Winter Market, I wanted to incorporate tastes of the season. Inspired by a cherry-peach chili recipe that my husband sampled while in Traverse City back in October, I decided to make a pumpkin (un-spicy) chili. It tasted fine, but my husband decided it needed something "more," so he went outside and picked a few tart apples from a tree in our yard. I cut them up and added them in, and they absolutely made the dish (thanks, husband)! That's how the pumpkin-apple chili was born.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground chicken (or turkey)

1 large red onion, peeled and chopped

1-2 heads garlic, peeled and minced

coconut oil (or other cooking oil)

3 C chicken or vegetable broth

3-4 C pumpkin puree

4 C black beans (cooked or canned)

1 tsp sea salt

2-4 tart apples, peeled and chopped (don't peel until needed)

4-6 pie pumpkins, rounded gourds or squashes (option)

Instructions

1. Add a few tablespoons of oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, garlic, and ground meat (about five minutes to brown on all sides). Reduce heat to medium, and cook for another fifteen minutes (stirring occasionally).
2. While meat is cooking, add chicken broth, beans, pumpkin puree and salt to a stock pot. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently.
3. When the meat is done cooking, strain the fat off, and scoop the contents into the stock pot. Mix thoroughly. Cook fifteen minutes.
4. If you'd like to serve the chili in pumpkins or gourds, remove the tops, scoop out the seeds, and have them ready to go! (OPTIONAL)
5. Peel and cube the tart apples (Northern Spy are my fav), and add to the stock pot for the last five minutes of cooking. Stir well.
6. Serve in the pumpkins/gourds, or normal bowls :)

*Vegan potential -- use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and either omit the chicken/turkey, or sauté tofu as a substitute (allow an extra ten-twenty minutes to cook the tot firmly, if desired).