Pumpkin Chili

I made this for my husband Halloween night. It was a little spicy to me and so we added another can of pumpkin, and that helped. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this bowl of fall! Based on this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded & minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBSP chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cans of pumpkin puree
• 1  can black beans, rinsed & drained

Directions:

1. Soup pot over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, onions, and bell peppers. Cook, breaking up meat, until meat is browned. Drain and return to pot.
2. Add jalapenos, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Stir for a few minutes until fragrant, and add diced tomatoes & juices, chicken broth, and pumpkin. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in black beans

I also served the chili with corn bread. I take 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and 1 box of Yellow Cake mix and combine them. I follow the instructions on each of the boxes pour the batter in a large cake pan and cook at 350 until golden. It is heavenly.

My picture didn’t make dinner look as appetizing as it was…so, we will omit the picture. Enjoy this picture of our Halloween pumpkin.

 

Baked Chicken Wings

I made chicken wings last night! Partially by accident, I bought entire chicken wings from the store. When I opened the package, it kind of creeped me out. They weren’t the cute little buffalo wings you get at restaurants, but it was the WHOLE chicken’s arm! And, there was a few remnants of feathers. I watched a YouTube video or 7 about how to cut them into the normal wings. I was so nervous I was going to cut all my fingers off. It was very stressful. I followed this recipe (loosely based on this recipe):

2 tbs Olive Oil
1 tbsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Black pepper
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cayne Pepper

I preheated my oven to 450. I also had my pan in the oven preheating also and left in the oven for about 20 minutes. I tossed my wings in a bowl with the olive oil then into the dry seasonings. I laid the chicken wings on the heated pan, careful to not overlap them and I baked them for 30 minutes or until golden.

Served with ranch or BBQ sauce.

They were pretty good! A little spicy, but my husband loves that. Next time I make them, I would add something substantive and easier to eat with the wings. I ended up eating half of the baby’s PB&J sandwich so my mouth would quit being on fire!

Panzanella

It is a glorious thing. One of my favorites. Loosely based on the Pioneer Woman recipe. I follow her tomato, cucumber, and her crusty bread, but I omit the onion because I use my own dressing that has onion in it. Her’s looks much more attractive than mine, but her dinner helper isn’t as cute! He loves to get little pieces of cheese and tomatoes as I chop them.

Here is the recipe:

• 1 loaf Very Crusty Italian Bread
• 1 whole Cucumber, Halved, Sliced
• 6 whole Assorted Tomatoes, Cut Into Wedge (Heirloom Tomatoes are fun to use!)
• Fresh mozzarella (1 pkg)
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 6 tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 6 tbs chopped Sweet Onion
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp fresh basil (i like the tube of fresh basil found in the produce section at Meijer)

Preheat the oven to 275 F. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes, arrange on a baking sheet, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place the pan in the oven for 20-25 (I usually have to do more, 30-35) minutes to slightly crisp (“stale”) the bread without toasting it. Remove it from the oven and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine bread, cucumber, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Combine the Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, onion, sugar, and basil in a small jar and shake to combine and drizzle over salad. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour or two before serving.

The bread soaks up the dressing and it remains crunchy on the inside. It is so. very. good.

Mondays

Mondays are the worst, unless you are a stay at home mom. I look forward to Monday. After a weekend of activities, church (no matter what time church is, its always in the middle of nap time…why is that???), and the loss of any schedule or routine, I ache for a boring Monday. I ache because the baby (16 mo. old) is giving me a headache.

So, today, we are happy for our routine and schedules. I have a home cleaning schedule that I LOVE. It helps be stay on top of the entire house and only requires a little bit each day. Today was kitchen day. I didn’t get to as much of the kitchen as usual, but I checked 2 things off the list that were well overdue. The sink and the microwave.

Microwave Before

Sink During

Comet. Its like my new best friend. I use it on everything. Last week i used it to get the grime off of the surface of my oven. It worked real well.

And after! So clean. If it doesn’t smell a little like bleach, it isn’t clean. 😉 Oh and, here is a picture of my cleaning helper:

A little blurry…but that’s the way he photographs most often.He follows me around the kitchen and begs to be picked up…its difficult to be productive. But since we were back on our schedules, he took a 3 hour nap this afternoon. Much needed by him and me.

Tonight for dinner I made a personal Pinterest Favorite “Cajun Chicken Pasta.” I usually double it, but didn’t tonight and wish I had. We ate it all up, Owen loved it too! And no leftovers. What am I going to do for lunch tomorrow?

• 2boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
• 4ounces linguine, cooked al dente
• 2teaspoons cajun seasoning (your recipe, Cajun Seasoning Mix or store-bought)
• 2tablespoons butter
• 1thinly sliced green onion
• ¹⁄₂cup heavy whipping cream
• 2tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• ¹⁄₄teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₄teaspoon dried basil
• ¹⁄₈teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¹⁄₈teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and heat through.
3. Pour over hot linguine and toss with Parmesan cheese.