You know me. You know I love my chili. You know my kids love my chili. And, you know that everyone who’s tried my chili loves it too.

But, I needed to come up with a different version of chili; a little lighter, a little more veggie forward, yet equally as delicious.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded

2 small apples cored, seeded and sliced

3/4 onion, peeled and rough chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1 Tbsp evoo

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup stock

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp evoo

3 lbs ground turkey

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

3/4 cups chardonnay

3/4 cups chicken stock

3 cups chopped cauliflower

3 cups chopped and packed spinach or kale

1 clamshell mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.

Place butternut squash on a tin foil lined oven safe tray. Add garlic, apples, and onion. Drizzle all with 1 Tbsp evoo, and 1 tsp salt.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove apples, onions and garlic and let sit.

Cook butternut squash for an additional 20 - 30 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork.

Scrape out butternut squash flesh from skin and add to a blender or vita mix. Add cooked apples, onions and garlic.

Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and 1 tsp salt.

Puree.

Heat 4 Tbsp evoo over medium high heat in a large dutch oven.

Once oil is shimmering, add ground turkey, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper.

Cook turkey until almost browned. Just before fully cooked add 3/4 cup chardonnay and 3/4 cup chicken stock.

Add chopped cauliflower and mushrooms with an additional 3/4 cups chicken stock. Stir to combine.

Let cook for 20 minutes.

Add beans, spinach and butternut squash puree.

Let simmer for 20 minutes.