This thing, while good on its own, gets better with the addition of a stick of butter and a bunch of vanilla and brown sugar. WHO KNEW?

So there’s this thing Floy-Jean makes around the holidays. It’s generally called “Grandma’s Special Squash”, because

1. No one really makes it quite as good as she does.
2. It’s special. (And be ‘special’ I mean ‘actually a dessert, masquerading as a hot dish’.)

Here’s how it goes.

1. Start with 3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded. and cubed. (Not everyone skins them. Grandma does. Grandma’s version is better. Draw your own conclusions.)

2. Cook the squash in water until the cubes are tender enough to mash.

3. Drain the squash pieces, drop em in mixing bowl, and beat em until they’re smooth. Smooooth. No. Smoother.

4. Add milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.

• 3/4 c milk
• 6 T butter, melted (yeah, that’s most of a stick of butter. deal.)
• 3 eggs, already beaten
• 1/2 t vanilla

5. Combine these dry ingredients, add them to squash, and mix well.

• 1/8 t nutmeg
• 3/4 c sugar
• 3 T flour
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/8 t cloves

6. Transfer everything in the mixing bowl to a (greased) 2-qt baking dish. Cover it and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

7. While the squash-ness is baking, make the Topping. THE TOPPING IS NOT OPTIONAL.

In a small bowl, combine these topping ingredients until crumbly.

• 1/2 c vanilla wafer crumbs (about 15 wafers)
• 1/4 c packed brown sugar
• 2 T butter, melted (yeah, that’s the rest of that stick of butter you started in on before)

8. When the squash is done baking, pull it out, and sprinkle the Topping over it.

9. Stick the whole thing back in the oven again, uncovered, for about 12 to 15 minutes.

10. Mouthgasm.

(To which she was like: “Here’s the recipe, you didn’t have to beg. Food isn’t a secret.” Which is one reason she’s awesome.)

I had trouble finding the recipe last year. When I did find it, I posted it on my blog to make it more readily accessible to me.

Anyway, it’s getting cold out again, and when it gets cold my thoughts turn to this yummy chili. I dug the posted recipe up and, in reading it, realized that I actually don’t make the recipe as written by Floy-Jean anymore.

So here’s my version.

2. You will need, in this order:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1.5 teasp. garlic powder 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tbs. veg. oil

• 2 cans (15.5 oz) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
• 8 oz chopped green chilis 8+ oz chopped jalapenos. You can get cans of these, pre-chopped, but I now just buy them whole and chop em myself.
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. ground cumin 2 t. ground cumin, maybe a little more
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/4 t. cayenne pepper 1 t. cayenne pepper

• 1 cup sour cream (I don’t like sour cream that much, so I don’t always use it. You like it? Use it at the same time as the whipping cream.)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

(Note on the seasonings. I’m not sure exactly HOW much I put in. I know it’s more than the original recipe, and sometimes a lot more. Season til it smells good; I trust you.)

3. First cooking bit
In a large saucepan, cook the chicken chunks, chopped onion and garlic in the oil, until the chicken’s not pink. (Sometimes I throw a few of the chopped chilis in at this point, but not all. Some.)

4a. If you Did Not Double the Recipe (or if you did double it and your saucepan is muy macho):
Add the beans, broth, chopped chilis & seasonings to the pan. Bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce your heat & simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Doubling the recipe is one of the few situations in which I’ll get out our deep-dish electric skillet.

4b. If you Doubled the Recipe and your Saucepan is not Huge, or you have loads of time and want your house to smell like Awesome:
Dump the cooked chicken stuff and everything but the whipping cream into a crock pot and run it for a couple hours on high, or all day on low.

5. Finally:
Remove from the heat, add the whipping & sour cream, and serve immediately. (With some shredded cheese and crackers and such: you know, chili stuff.  Basic recipe feeds about six or seven people.