pumpkin in chili?

This is positively a weird yet delicious recipe. I have a pretty good Chili recipe, but I was feeling creative or maybe daring last night. Before you say, “sick”, just know that Aaron had 2 serving and I really enjoyed it, Pumpkin Chili Mexicana. I really want to share this with you so you can try it too. Try it and let me know what you think.


Pumpkin Chili Mexicana

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped

• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

• 1 (15 ounce) can canned pumpkin

• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

• 1 (15 1/4 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies

• 1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn, loose-pack

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce


Directions:


1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stirring frequently, add onion, bell pepper, and garlic cooking for approximately 7 minutes or until tender. Add turkey and cook until browned. Drain.


2. To turkey mixture add tomatoes with juice, pumpkin, tomato sauce, beans, chilies, corn, chili powder, cumin, and pepper. Bring this to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover saucepan and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

platinum

We had an awesome weekend celebrating Aaron's "30th" Birthday. (He turned 30 on 10-10-10... basically a platinum b'day!) It was so special for Aaron to have friends from home, school, and Shreveport in Memphis celebrating. It was filled with lots of amazing food, a little sight seeing, and great time with friends. Here is a little snap shot of the weekend!

 Pumpkin Run

 Thank You to the Rogers! 

 Cruising

 I made Martha pretend she was on the Titanic

They were new best friends. Biscotti LOVED Gibson!

you're invited

I'm not usually one to blog about endorsing something, but heres to that! A couple of times I've ordered invitations from Tiny Prints, and have always been really pleased. One great thing is that when it's your first time ordering you can get $10 off (use code: AFFNEW) or you can get _% off (depending on how much you spend). I'm really excited about the invites I just ordered for my cousins' baby shower. You might want to consider them for your next get together!

soup season begins!

Today I felt like it was finally soup time! I probably really felt that way due to my the sore throat (the one down fall to the seasons changing)! This soup is super easy and healthy. I have to tell it is not as good without the avocado relish topping. That topping makes the soup, promise!

Chili-Spiced Chicken Soup with Stoplight Peppers

SPICE BLEND:
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
SOUP:
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
2 cups chopped sweet onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 (32-ounce) carton fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
RELISH:
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
1 diced peeled avocado
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

1. To prepare spice blend, combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.
2. To prepare soup, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons spice blend over chicken. Sauté 8 minutes or until done; cool. Chop chicken; set aside.
3. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat; add onion, bell peppers, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with remaining spice blend; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in chicken, corn, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Add lime juice.
4. To prepare relish, combine chopped cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through avocado).
5. Ladle 1 1/4 cups soup into bowls; top with 1/4 cup relish. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

oh my

Oh my. I'm so behind! Fall is an amazing and a busy time of year. Football has started, eating meals outside, wearing jeans, throw on a scarf, leaves are changing, and sip on something hot... it's fall! We have been keeping busy working on the house while doing the day to day life things.
Last week was a little hard and great all wrapped in one. Biscotti had a malignant tumor removed, which of course made us a little sad. It may or may not come back, we are of course praying that it does not return! It made us realize just how big of a part of our family that she really is. I told Aaron that I was going to get her a Livestrong bracelet!
On an uplifting note. Work has been just amazing. The Lord is doing some crazy things, and of course just answering prayers that have been heavy on our hearts. I'm so thankful to be apart of this ministry, and just be a witness to Him doing so many great things.
Tonight, I'll be looking forward to a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie with vanilla ice cream on top!

new music wednesday...free

I got an e-mail about this group, Autumn Film from Boulder, CO. I think they are pretty good. The trio is giving away some great free downloads from their website. You should for sure check them out here to download some of their free stuff. Happy Listening!

dr. seuss lives here... really

It has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. There are many holes to fill with new things I'm learning spiritually- or just having my world rocked in a good way, Ansel Adams gallery, some new recipes, new travels, and new things to look forward to.

I feel like I have been everywhere over these 2 weeks. I've been out of town for work, and then Aaron and I finally took a vacation! Woohoo! It was about time. We went just north of San Diego to a beach called La Jolla. It was pretty much a-maz-ing! I have never been to a place like it. We had a great cottage, ate great food, biked, ran, kayaked, beached it, swam in the 60 degree water, did some local things, & relaxed--I know...surprise...I did it! I just wanted to share a few of our pics hope you can picture yourself there!

500 feet from our cottage

Bike Rides!

I was thinking about how I could totally do this everyday!

Yes, we saw sharks

Seals & Sea Lions were everywhere. They were pretty awesome!

Harbor... ate fresh fish off the dock... it was delish!

There was no excuse to not have fresh flowers.

Only in CA does your Poodle hang out through your Lexus' roof.