Pumpkin Turkey Chili

I have always been a pumpkin lover, but its only been this year that I've started to become intrigued by its use in savory dishes. After my pumpkin mac and cheese flop (I haven't decided if its worth posting or not), I was a little hesitant to try this chili recipe. I made a few changes to the original recipe that came from the Whole Food's website, and much to my surprise it was absolutely delicious! If I hadn't told anyone, I don't think they would have known it was made with pumpkin. The pumpkin adds a unique flavor, but the chili doesn't actually taste like pumpkin. It disappeared so fast that I didn't even have time to get a photo! So, here is the photo from the Whole Food's website (this is me avoiding a copyright lawsuit) and its a much better photo than I ever could have taken!

I made this about a week in advance for our Halloween dinner and froze it in a gallon sized ziploc bag. I pulled it out and stuck it (still frozen) in the crock pot and let it simmer on low for 6-8 hours. You certainly don't have to let it cook this long, or use a crock pot at all. It is ready to eat after about 45 minutes of simmering, but cooking it longer certainly won't hurt! If anything it helps the flavors come together.

This was a super easy 'serve yourself' meal. I set out toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, jalapenos and baked up a batch of Jiffy Corn Muffins to go along with the chili. My (almost) mother-in-law let me in on the secret of adding one tablespoon of sugar to the corn muffin mix, and they turned out delicious! The whole meal was a hit. Don't be afraid of the pumpkin!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapeños, chopped (I leave the seeds in because we like the heat! If you don't, remove them before chopping.)
• 3T chopped garlic
• 1T olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes (and their juice)
• 1 pound ground turkey (either regular turkey or turkey sausage works well)
• 1 can beans of your choice (I used light kidney beans.)
• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2T chili powder
• 1t ground cumin
• 1t cinnamon
• 1C corn
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Saute peppers and garlic in olive oil in a large pot on medium heat.

Once they are tender, add turkey.

When turkey is cooked, add in pumpkin, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, chicken broth and all spices.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for at least 45 minutes.  

  

Adapted from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/467

Amazing Pork Tenderloin

I am convinced that a woman invented the slow cooker. It just makes the most sense. You can't tell me that a man would have the forethought to create a machine that allows you to start dinner hours in advance when they don't even know the meaning of the word "plan." If you left dinner plans to a man you wouldn't be eating dinner...or you'd be eating Domino's every night.

Thankfully, I do the dinner planning around here (and a big thanks to the woman who created the slow cooker!). How cool is it when dinner basically cooks itself?! I find this notion particularly appealing on a Sunday when I'm feeling especially lazy.

Although, if you had come to dinner Sunday night and tried this pork you would have thought (after you insisted on hugging me) that I spent all day slaving! The aroma that will fill your house while this cooks is heavenly. The pork was perfectly cooked and the sauce (technically "au jus")....oh, the sauce. You might want to just pour a tall glass of it to drink with dinner. Just look at it. Even cheap wine couldn't ruin it!

Although, since it calls for 3/4 cup of wine, it leaves the rest of the bottle for you to enjoy with your meal! Not that I'm advocating drinking a whole bottle of wine. Not me. I definitely would never encourage that type of behavior. But, you have all that wine just sitting there, and these days people can't afford to be wasteful. I'm just sayin'...

This dish was perfectly complimented by a heaping pile of spiced butternut squash. So good, its like eating dessert and dinner at the same time. But you'll have to stick around for that recipe, its coming next week!

This recipe came from Allrecipes.com and the link can be found below. I note the changes I made and my suggestions.

Amazing Pork Tenderloin

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin

1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce (After reading the reviews, I used 2T because some commented that is was too salty. Next time I'll only use 1T because it was still a tad salty for my taste, but very good!)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.

Source: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/amazing-pork-tenderloin-in-the-slow-cooker/Detail.aspx