Turkey Pumpkin

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

Last week, during my latest pumpkin kick, I found a recipe from the Whole Foods website Turkey Pumpkin Chili.  Skeptical of that flavor combination, I made sure to read all of the recipe's mixed reviews and cooked accordingly by adding quite a bit more spice.  The results of my spice experiment were a definite hit and I've made it again already.  This time, however, I paid a little more attention to measurements!

Keep in mind that this chili has beans in it, so it's not a true Texas chili.  That being said, I think it's definitely worth it for anyone to forgo their Texas elitism and try this out!  You won't be disappointed.  :)

Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1/2 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbs. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 up to 1 whole can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 1 can diced green chilies (4 oz), with their liquid
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz), with their liquid
• 1 can-full of water (using tomato can)
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1 can pinto or dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

In a dutch oven over medium low heat, brown the ground turkey and drain off any of the watery juices.  Move browned meat to one side of the pot and add the onion, cooking until translucent.  Add a little olive or canola oil if necessary.  Once the onions have softened, add bell peppers and seasonings -- salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin, and paprika.

Stir well and add in the pumpkin puree, chilies, tomatoes, water, tomato paste, and sugar.  Mix to combine, taste to make sure the seasonings are correct, and adjust accordingly. 

Simmer, covered, on low for an hour (or at least 30 minutes).  Serve with cheese and sour cream over rice or with tortilla chips.

~~~~~

My husband and I found out that the leftovers make for awesome nacho toppings as well.  Just lay out some chips on a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with cheese and top with chili and salsa.  Broil for about two minutes until the cheese is melted and the chips are warmed through.  These babies made our Friday night date with Smallville was extra special.

Annnnd yes, we are nerds.  Don't judge, you know that you like the theme song.  Somebody saaaaaaaaaave me . . .

A List of Names I Call My Son

He's a man of many names.  It occurred to me the other night that my son has a growing list of nicknames and, as he's approaching his first birthday (how did that happen?), we should probably edit the list eventually.  None of them seem too potentially scarring though, right?

• Pumpkin
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Seed
• Sweet Pea
• Sweetie Pea
• Honey
• Honey Pie
• Honey Bee
• Honey Biscuit
• Biscuit
• Cutie
• Cutie Pie
• Cutie Bean
• Apey
• Baby Ape
• Sugar Pie
• Sugar Foot
• Chuby (pronounced "chew-bee," not to be confused with 'chubby')
• Chubeanie Baby
• Chubasco Sauce
• Chubikin Pampwalker
• Chubinho (for when he plays for the Brazilian national team)
• Dinobaby
• Baby Hulk
• Little Man

 Then, of course, there's his actual name, although he probably thinks that it's "No sir!"  Poor kid.

Xs and Os

Does anyone remember having 'reindeer antlers' as a kid?  You might have had 'bird's nests' around Easter time.  Either way, they were delicious and simply mounds of chocolate covered chow mein noodles.  They've been on my mind lately and the bag of noodles in the pantry was just begging to be drenched in chocolate.

Pair my need for chocolate covered anything with our economy sized double-box of Cheerios and my XOXO Mix was born...er, made...mixed into existence!

It's simple and prrretty darn delicious.

Chocolate Covered Xs and Os -- XOXO Mix

Ingredients:

• 1 cup toasted oat cereal (Cheerios)
• 1 cup chow mein noodles
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• Kosher salt

In a very large bowl, combine the cereal, noodles, coconut, cranberries, and almonds.  Toss to evenly distribute all of the goodies.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter, making sure to stir every 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth and shiny (about 1-1.5 minutes).

Drizzle the melted chocolate onto the cereal mixture and toss to coat.  Pour the mix onto a parchment lined sheet pan and spread into an even layer.  Sprinkle with a little salt and let sit until the chocolate has set.  Break into pieces and store in ziplock bags or airtight containers.

Two Recipes, One Can of Pumpkin

For some reason, the arrival of fall triggers something in my brain that tells me I HAVE to eat pumpkin.  Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie.  This afternoon was gorgeous.  Balmy temperatures in the low 80s aren't really the beacons of fall for most people, but in Houston, they are!  Dinobaby and I spent the afternoon together (as if we don't spend every afternoon together) and enjoyed the breeze and sunshine.  On the drive home, I picked up my first pumpkin spice latte of the season and, once Dinobaby was sweetly napping, I savored every bit of that thing!

While baby was sleeping, I set out to think of ways to use up the canned pumpkin that I'd just stocked in the pantry.  Of course I could have baked, but I wanted something less time consuming and maybe a bit healthier, so here we have a snack time recipe and something for dinner.  Two (three?) recipes, one can of pureed pumpkin.


Spiced Pumpkin Dessert Pizzas

You'll need:

• Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread (recipe below)
• 2 Whole wheat English muffins
• Apple, grated or thinly sliced
  
• Golden raisins
• Cinnamon
• Brown sugar
• Pumpkin seeds
  
• Walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:
Toast English muffins to your desired crunchiness.  Lately I've been toasting them whole, then again after separating the two sides, but make them as toasty as you like.

Spread each half with Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread then top with any combination of your favorite toppings.  Apple and cinnamon.  Brown sugar and pumpkin seeds with the sugar melted under the broiler.  Walnuts and raisins.

I thought it would be cute and more fun for kiddos to grate the apple since I'm calling these dessert pizzas -- you've got your pumpkin 'sauce' and apples stand in for the mozzarella.  Top it off with any combination of goodies and enjoy!  

Serves 4, with leftover pumpkin spread for later in the week.

Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread Enjoy as a dip for apples, pretzels, etc. too!

• 5 oz. reduced fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 3 Tbs. pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
• 2 Tbs. pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

Blend all ingredients together with a hand mixer until smooth and the spices and pumpkin are well incorporated.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

~~~~~

For dinner, I used up the remaining pumpkin puree with this tasty, yet heavily modified recipe from the Whole Foods website.  It worked well as a base recipe for experimentation and the results garnered a 10/10 from my husband ("As in, I'd eat this everyday.")!

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

The reviews complained that the chili lacked enough spice, so I nearly tripled the amount of chili powder (I didn't have jalapeños on hand), doubled the cumin, and added some garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, and a dash of cinnamon.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, simple guacamole, or chips.  If you test this one out, I'd encourage you to spice and taste until you find the most pleasing mix of flavors.  I was happy that I did.

Dinner Salad

For a dinner-worthy salad, all on its own, combine:

• Organic baby greens 
• Yellow & orange mini bell peppers, sliced into 1/4" rings (Use as many as you like, especially if you have a ginormous bag of them from Sam's like I do.)
• Fresh raspberries
• One half of an avocado, cut into chunks
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sliced almonds
• A sprinkling of fried chow mein noodles (It offsets the health factor a little, but the crunch is nice!)
• Feta cheese, optional

Drizzle with a little poppy seed dressing and enjoy!  The raspberries are a little sweet and a little tart and the creamy avocado really lends itself to the whole salad like a dressing.  I just ate a huge bowl of this salad accompanied by a piece of garlic bread made from a bolillo.  I'm quite the happy camper!

Enjoying Where You Are

With Dinobaby's first birthday fast approaching, I've been thinking a lot lately about our family as it is and about our plans for more children.  My once jaundiced and orange little October pumpkin is now a hulk of a toddler who can walk and say hi to strangers.  He's becoming less and less like my little baby (sorry kid, but he's always going to be my little baby regardless of how old or big he gets) and more and more like a child.  While it's beyond exciting, it's also a little sad.  It's tugging at my heart and making think about other little ones who might be in our future.

That same tugging is also reminding me of how I felt after Dinobaby was born.  Amidst the joy (and extreme exhaustion), there was also a slight feeling of, "Uhh...so now what?"

Growing up, I always looked forward to the day when I would meet the right person.  In 2007 I did, and after a few months, my inner monologue was like a combination of "I Can Hear the Bells" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice."  I couldn't wait to be engaged.  And then we were engaged.  Then, I couldn't wait until we got married.  And then we did get married. 

I'd been waiting for what seemed to be my whole life to have a baby and start a family, too.  Miraculously (and I don't say that lightly -- I'm so, so grateful), Dinobaby was born a mere 10 months after our wedding. 

The first time we visited my parents, who live a four hour drive away, with the baby in tow, I realized that I'd gotten everything that I'd wished for.  I was married to the most kind-hearted man I've ever met and we had a gorgeous son.  With that, however, I realized an entire set of consequences that hadn't really struck me before that point. 

Getting what I wanted also meant that I could no longer sleep in at my parents' house, wake up to eat just-baked blueberry muffins, and then read a book for an entire afternoon.  I couldn't walk to the gate and take my own sweet time, stopping to sit in the road (it's a long way to the gate, and the road is private, by the way) and watch ants scurry over pebbles and into their mounds.  No more alone time watching the clouds as they moved lazily over the bright green pastures with no regard for how much time had passed.  No more alone time to even go to the bathroom, for that matter.

In short, I realized that I wasn't the baby anymore and I cried.  It was dumb, but I cried because everything was different. 

Why didn't I just enjoy being single?  I could go into a store by myself whenever I wanted!  It was so much easier when I was pregnant, even if I was hot and miserable.  Why didn't I enjoy it?, etc., etc.

I believe that things happen in their own time and at the right time.  That afternoon at my parents house, I had to ask myself, "When else am I supposed to be happy and just live, if not now?"  True, we could have waited to have children and used that time to travel or just be married.  We would have enjoyed it, I have no doubt, and sometimes I miss that possibility.  But I wouldn't change the way that things actually happened. 

My point is that I need to enjoy where I am.  This is the only time that my family will be exactly as it is.  It's the only time that we'll be living in this apartment with just one child who loves my company, cuddles up to me to nurse, doesn't go to school, and hasn't yet learned the word, "No!"  While it's fun to dream about how our family might grow, or what tomorrow might bring, I'm reminded to enjoy what we have today!