Check out this month’s Harvest of the Month Newsletter for fun facts, tips, & uses for winter squash! Also includes an Autumn Roasted Squash Soup recipe!
Nominate a Healthy Living Hero Today
Healthy Living Hero awards are back for the sixth year in a row. The La Crosse County Healthy Living Collaboration (HLC) is seeking to recognize local youth, adults and organizations who have worked to make La Crosse County a healthier place to live, work and play. The awards recognize those who have worked to improve nutrition/healthy eating, physical activity and/or tobacco-free living.
The 2018 Healthy Living Hero awards will again recognize three categories:
• Youth (ages 18 and under)
• Individuals (ages 19+)
• Organizations (small or large)
All applications materials must be submitted by Sunday, December 9, 2018. A selection committee of current Healthy Living Collaboration members will score the applications and select the winners. All winners will invited and recognized at the January 11, 2019 Healthy Living Collaboration meeting.
Farm2School Chili as featured on WIZM & News8000!
Prep Time | 15 minutes |
Cook Time | 30 minutes |
Servings |
cups
|
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced onions
- 3/4 cup diced carrots
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 1 tsp. granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
- 1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 cup diced red bell peppers
- 1 and 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
- 1 and 3/4 cups frozen corn
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained (can use tomato sauce instead, if desired)
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, undrained
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Ingredients
|
|
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery and carrots and sauté until tender.
- Stir in the bell peppers, garlic powder and chili powder. Cook about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the mushrooms and frozen corn. Cook about 5 minutes and test to make sure all vegetables are tender. Add cooking time if needed.
- Stir in tomatoes, kidney and black beans. Season with oregano, cumin, basil and salt.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve warm, topped with shredded cheddar if desired.
This chili is especially flavorful if made 1-2 days in advance as this allows the flavors to develop.
To prepare using local, frozen ingredients similar to the schools, use frozen Snopac vegetables in the same quantities listed above. These are available at area grocery stores including Woodman's, Festival Foods and the People's Food Co-op.
Some districts will also serve this chili with local ground beef or pork. To add this step, simply cook your ground meat thoroughly in a large pot, then set it aside, wipe out the pot and begin with step 1.
This recipe is very adaptable! Add other vegetables to mix it up, or try adding a little cayenne pepper for a spicy kick!
Nature Connections Guide is LIVE
The La Crosse County Nature Connections program is releasing a one-stop electronic resource for connecting with nature in La Crosse County – www.natureconnectionslax.org!

This electronic Nature Guide is a resource aiming to make outdoor, nature-rich places in La Crosse County easier to discover – for residents and visitors alike. The array of parks, nature preserves, and hiking and biking trails is expansive. As such, locating and accessing information about each one can quickly become an internet scavenger hunt. This Guide will become your ‘home base’ when seeking out natural areas in La Crosse County. The Guide’s interactive map allows you to search outdoor places by location. Furthermore, each trail has a specific page identifying all access points, directions, parking, and trail terrain & difficulty. A unique feature of the site includes a biodiversity rating for each area (variety of different types of life throughout a given environment) and a listing of dominant features (i.e. scenic overlook) expected in each location.
Did you know that, as little as 5 minutes a day spent connecting with nature can have a positive impact on your health! Furthermore, research shows that exposer to outdoor areas that have more biological diversity (biodiversity) provides the greatest health benefits.