Menu Monday: P is for Pumpkin Chili

'Tis the season:

I PROMISE.  There is pumpkin in there.  :)

With the cooler weather this weekend, I was craving a soup.  Or a stew.  Or a chili.  *ding ding ding*  But I wanted to mix things up and try something a bit different than my vegetarian, three-bean chili with chocolate syrup.  (And I just realized I have never posted the recipe for that.  How silly of me!)

I was pleased when I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Chili.  It turned out DELIGHTFUL:  half-gourmet, half-cowboy, and 100% autumnal.  Let me know what you think!

PUMPKIN CHILI

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/3-1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef or turkey

2 cups tomatoes, chopped

1-4 oz. can green chilies

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup pumpkin puree

dash each: cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed

2+ Tbsp. chili powder

1-15 oz. can black beans, rinsed

sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese

-Saute bell pepper, onion, celery, and garlic for about 5 minutes.
-Add ground meat and cook until done.
-Add tomatoes and green chilies and simmer for 5 minutes.
-Mix in broth, pumpkin, spices, and beans.
-Simmer for 20 minutes.
-Top with shredded cheddar and sour cream.

Photo a Day in September #22

22.  Autumn

I made pumpkin pancakes and homemade (buttermilk) syrup to celebrate the first day of fall!  I had planned to make pumpkin waffles, but I couldn't find the recipe I used last fall.  (We bought a case of pumpkin pie mix last year, and we have been trying to use it up ever since then.  The problem is that most recipes call for canned pureed pumpkin--not pumpkin pie mix.  This lost recipe actually used what we have.)  I googled recipes and came up with two; I went with the one that required less ingredients.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  You win some, you lose some.  These pumpkin waffles were a major fail.  Despite using plenty of oil to oil the waffle iron, they were sticking like CRAZY.  I threw out the first one and tried again.  I thought maybe I just needed to leave it in there longer, so I left it in there three times as long, AND IT STILL STUCK!  I added in some more baking mix and an egg (yeah, the original recipe didn't call for an egg) to the batter.  It still stuck!  So I tried pancakes...and they were not flippable!  So I added YET ANOTHER EGG and tried again.  This time the pancakes came out just fine.  It may have been because I had to use regular sugar over what was called (brown sugar) since we were out.  But after researching, it seems like that shouldn't have made too big of a difference in the waffle/pancake recipe.  I think the problem lay in the fact that it used water over milk and no eggs.  Needless to say, I will not be using that recipe again.

I almost gave up, but I had already put my buttermilk syrup on.  It was causing problems on its own since I didn't have any buttermilk and was worried my substitute (vinegar + milk) wasn't going to work.  Thankfully, it did!  I LOVE this stuff.  It is like CRACK.  How did you ring in the new season??