One of the year’s biggest eating weeks in our house doesn’t even take place during the month of December. Or over Thanksgiving. It’s (usually) the third week in February, during which we celebrate both Valentine’s Day and my husbands birthday over the span of a few days. For Valentines I made this Seared Duck Breast over these Peanut Sesame Noodles. A couple nights later (for his birthday) I made the most outrageous Beef Wellington. Then over the weekend I threw a birthday brunch party complete with this mushroom-bacon frittata, baked french toast, and topped it all off with a nice and light German Chocolate Cake. So you could say, it’s time for some detox (I suppose).
Which brings us to the black bean and butternut squash chili, just the ticket after a week of heavy eating. Dried black beans are simmered to tenderness in a smokey-spicy chipotle laced broth with fire-roasted tomatoes. Add cooked butternut squash cubes and your favorite chili garnishes and you have a cleanse in a bowl, no cayenne-cabbage juice-soup concoctions needed. And you’ll get a weeks worth of cleanse-lunches too, because this makes a huge pot of chili.
