Football season is back! I’m a big Eagles (NFL), and Longhorns (NCAA) fan so weekends in the fall are always engulfed with exciting sports. So what better thing to do while I’m sitting on my ass drinking beer, then get some good smells brewing in the kitchen?

Crockpot or slow cooker dishes are great for this occasion. They are very low maintenance and always delicious.

For me the quintessential football food is chili. Pork, veggie, chicken, I don’t care, I just love chili and with this recipe, you’ll be licking the bowl clean.

Saturday I was volunteering at the farmers market and picked up a few of my favorites: sweet potatoes and butternut squash from Johnson’s Backyard Garden. I stopped by in.gredients for two packages of Richardson Farm’s ground pork and I was off to the races.

I’ve been obsessed with my new Morrocan spices so they were a staple in this recipe. Leave a comment if you are looking for more traditional spices to use instead.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH – SWEET POTATO PORK CHILI

Serves 8

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 6 hours

Total time: 6-7 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP ras el hanout
• 1 TBSP sweet paprika
• 1 TBSP cumin
• 1 TBSP basil dried
• 1 TBSP dried oregano
• 1/2 TBSP chili powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2lbs of ground pork
• 1 large can of peeled whole tomatoes 28.2 oz
• 1 can of pinto bean
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 medium-sized butternut squash
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 head of garlic
• Mexican cheese blend – optional
• Chives – optional
• Sour cream – optional

Directions:

1. Turn on your crock pot to High.
2. Peel and chop up the butternut squash into half-inch sized cubes 
3. Chop up the sweet potato into half-inch sized cubes (I kept the skin on but you can peel it if you prefer).
4. Drain 80% of the liquid from the beans.
5. Combine the squash and potatoes in the crockpot and then dump in the kidney and pinto beans. Crush the whole tomatoes in your hands and dump the tomato and liquid into the crockpot.
6. Next, chop up your onion and mince the garlic.
7. Heat up a saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté the garlic and onion until they are translucent – approximately 5 min.
8. Now add your ground pork and mix it all together until the pork has browned.
9.  Add the pork to your crockpot.
10. Finally, add all of your dry spices and mix everything up. Close the lid and wait!
11. Cook on high for the first 2 hours then turn it to low for the remaining time. (Tip: If you are home while this cooks, I would recommend stirring the ingredients in the crockpot a few times in the first hour or 2.)
12. When you’re ready, serve hot with cheese, sour cream, and chives.

P.S. Chili is almost always better day 2 so save the leftovers and eat it again or mix it up a bit. I made mine into a great salad with arugula.