Pumpkin chili

Made this for trunk or treat and I loved it.  I looked up a lot of pumpkin chili recipes and chose this one because we had the ingredients, but this one has no pumpkin pie spice or sugar, so you TOTALLY wouldn't be able to taste pumpkin at all unless you add those (like other recipes suggest).  This was important to me, so I added a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and about 1/4 th cup of sugar as other recipes suggested.  I think it made it much better, Rich thought it was a little too sweet.

source:  http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2010/10/recipe-for-crockpot-pumpkin-chili-with.html

Crockpot Pumpkin Chili with Ground Beef, Black Beans, and Kidney Beans
(Makes 6-8 servings, recipe adapted fromPumpkin Chili at Eclectic Recipes.)



Ingredients:
2-3 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan)
1 lb. ground beef (use ground beef with 10% fat or less for South Beach Diet)
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to season meat
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 T minced garlic
1 T ground cumin
1 T chili powder (I used mild chili powder from The Spice House, note this is a blend of spices and not ground chile pepper.)
2 tsp. ground Ancho chile pepper (or use a little more chili powder if you don't have this)
2 tsp. dried cilantro or 2-3 T chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. Spike Seasoning
2-4 oz. diced green Anaheim chile peppers (I only used 2 oz, but if you like it spicy use the whole 4 oz. can)
3 cups homemade beef stock (or use 2 cans beef broth)
1 can (15 oz. can) red kidney beans, rinsed with cold water
2 cans (15 oz. cans) black beans, rinsed with cold water
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz. can, not pumpkin pie filling!)
2 cans petite diced tomatoes with juice (14.5 oz. cans)
grated cheese for serving if desired (I used Mexican 4 cheese blend, a mixture of low-fat cheeses)
sour cream for serving if desired (I used light sour cream)

Instructions:
Heat a small amount of oil in a large heavy frying pan, add ground beef, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and cook until the beef is well browned. Add browned meat to the crockpot.

Add a little more oil to the frying pan, add diced onion and green bell pepper and cook 2-3 minutes, until the onion and pepper is just starting to soften. Add minced garlic, ground cumin, chili powder, ground Ancho chili pepper, dried cilantro, dried oregano, Spike Seasoning and diced green chiles and saute a couple minutes more. (Sauteeing the spices and chiles helps release the flavor, so don't skip this step.) Put the onion mixture into the crockpot, then deglaze the pan with the beef stock and add that to crockpot.

While onions and peppers are cooking, drain the beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. (This removes excess starchiness and makes the beans easier to digest.) Add beans to the crockpot. Add canned pumpkin and diced tomatoes with juice.

Stir the mixture to combine ingredients, then cook on high for 4-6 hours, (or 8-10 hours on low) stirring a few times if you're home. (I cooked my chili about 4 1/2 hours on high and it was perfect, but crockpots can vary greatly as to how hot they get, so adjust the cooking time depending on your own slow cooker.)

Serve hot, topped with grated cheese and sour cream if desired. This chili will be even better after it's been in the fridge overnight, and also freezes well.

Homemade Hamburger Buns (bread machine)

We made these with some burgers a few weeks ago and....yum!!  Best burgers ever largely because of these buns.  We've made them three times since then both for sandwich buns and just for rolls.  Very yummy.

source:  http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-hamburger-buns-bread-machine-80413

Total Time:

Prep Time:

Cook Time:

19 mins

10 mins

9 mins

Marie's No

You will never want to buy hamburger buns again after trying this recipe. Easy to do using a bread machine and so awesome! You can also top rolls with sesame seeds after brushing with melted butter.

Ingredients:

Servings:

  12   12

12

Units: US | Metric

• 1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

1. 1
   Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
2. 2
   Select dough setting.
3. 3
   When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface.
4. 4
   Cut dough in half and roll each half out to a 1" thick circle.
5. 5
   Cut each half into six 3 1/2" rounds with inverted glass as a cutter.
6. 6
   Place on greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.
7. 7
   Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
8. 8
   Bake at 350° for 9 minutes.
9. 9
   Note: Oven temperatures vary so check after 9 minutes to see if done. Some reviewers baked these anywhere from 12 to 30 minutes.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-hamburger-buns-bread-machine-80413#ixzz1cKAI0dZ6

Chicken with Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

Tried this tonight and I really liked it.  Rich thought it was too balsamic-y.  I don't think such a thing is possible.  We didn't have enough mushrooms, so we added a pepper and zucchini.  Also, we didn't add the bacon or the parsley.  We had the McAllisters over and they seemed to like it. I really liked it and want to make it again. 

source:  http://stephaniecooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/chicken-with-mushroom-balsamic-cream.html

Chicken with Mushroom & Balsamic Cream Sauce

I made this meal almost 2 months ago and I'm just getting around to blogging it, which is insane because it was a huge hit in our house! My sister came over for dinner but I had no meal plan set, so we dug through blogs together and decided on this. You see, my sister is obsessed with balsamic vinegar. And not in a normal way. She uses it as a pasta sauce. The browner the better. Ew. I love balsamic vinegar but not nearly to the extent my sister does! This came together quickly (bonus) and was excellent (double bonus)! It tasted rich and flavorful. All three of us loved this and I think it would be perfect for those early fall days that I am eagerly waiting for.

Source: What's Cooking, Chicago?

Ingredients:

Pasta:

Salt

1/2 pound orzo pasta

Chicken:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces

1/4 teaspoon

salt & pepper to taste

Mushrooms:

2 tablespoons butter

10 oz cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

10 oz white mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1-Prepare the pasta by heating a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente.

2- Prepare the mushrooms by preheating a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Season chicken liberally with salt, pepper garlic powder. Add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

3- Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2-5 minutes or until thickened.

4- To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with top with a chicken breast and sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley and crumbled bacon (if using.)