simple supper- squash/ lentil chili

it was steaming so is blurry

In my search for squash recipes  to try, I ran across this  recipe for squash/lentil chili. Since it was quite chilly and fall like here yesterday I decided to try it out and see what it was like. It is very easy to  prepare,  is a nice  quick,  healthy meal ,and the cost is very budget minded.  It is a decent recipe  but I wanted to use up a few leftovers I had  in the fridge so I tweaked it to suit my needs. Too bad I tweaked it wrongly as it  could have been very good, if I ha simply followed the directions.  I made some  corn bread to go with it.

 squash/lentil chili

2 tablespoons  olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 cup green lentils,
One 28-ounce can peeled  tomatoes, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound butternut squash or other winter squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the smoked paprika, cumin and coriander and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the  lentils, tomatoes and 1 cup of water; season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the lentils are nearly tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the squash, cover and cook over low heat until the lentils and squash are tender, about 15 minutes.  I  made ours in the crock pot and it worked out quite well. I set the crock pot to high for the first 2 hours  with all ingredients in the pot, then turned to low for 3 hours.