Butternut Squash-White Bean Chili with Goat Cheese

I love to cook.  I mean, I really love to cook.  I love planning the meals, the grocery shopping, and the actual cooking. But, like everyone else, there are only so many hours in the day and with four children, my days fill up fast.  There is not always enough time to prepare the meals that I have in mind.  That's why I love a one pot meal.  Especially a one pot meal that can be prepared in about 30 minutes. Plus, with a one pot meal, clean up is minimal.  Win-Win!  I have two chili recipes that I love.  One involves black beans, Swiss chard and butternut squash. The other is a chicken-based white bean chili.  Recently, I needed a quick dinner, and wanted chili, but lacked the ingredients to make either dish. With a little bit of this and a little bit of that, I had a delicious chili on the table in 30 minutes.  I must say it was incredible! The chili is meatless, but you won't miss the meat at all.  Roasted chunks of butternut squash, white beans, green chili are a great combination of flavors.  A small amount of goat cheese stirred in at the end gives the chili a velvety texture. Try this instead of your regular chili and you are sure to get rave reviews!

Butternut Squash-White Bean Chili

1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cans Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups roasted butternut squash cubes
1/2 - 1 cup chopped green chile
1 cup chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime
3 oz. goat cheese, divided
fresh parsley, chopped

Saute onion in a dutch oven over medium heat until softened. Add garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes. Add drained beans, tomatoes, butternut squash, chicken stock, and chile.  Simmer 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice.  Stir in 1/2 of goat cheee. Stir until cheese has melted. Garnish with remaining crumbled goat cheese and fresh parsley.

Notes:
I keep roasted butternut squash in my freezer and give it a quick minute or two in the microwave to thaw.
If your chili gets too thick as it simmers, add water or additional stock until the desired consitency is reached.
I used local roasted hatch green chile.  If you cannot get chile, feel free to substitute pobalono peppers.  You can also substitute a can of Rotel tomatoes in place of the tomatoes and green chile.

This one pot dish is perfect for this week's Holiday Recipe Exchange. Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Exchange sponsored by Le Creuset.