Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Dawnie, this is for you. Hopefully it will re energize your will to blog!! You were having lots of fun doing it, and I am sure there are some things that you'd like to share. So, PLEASE!! BLOG!!!

That being said.

Here is an odd sort of recipe that I found in a Smith's mailer. I wanted to try it because I like recipes that hide healthy ingredients.

As always I also changed the recipe a ton based on what I like and what I had. I am only going to post what I did and not the original recipe.

1 Onion chopped
2 Bell peppers chopped (I only had red)
1 tbs Minced garlic
1 lb Ground turkey
2 C. Diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
2 C. Pumpkin puree
1 can Kidney beans
1 can Pinto beans
1 1/2 tbs Chili powder
1 tbs Cumin
1/2 tbs Paprika
1/2 tsp each Black pepper & Salt
Toppings:
Shredded cheese
Sour Cream
Hot sauce

Brown ground turkey and set aside. In same pan add peppers & onion. Cook until tender, if using fresh tomatoes add them at this time too. Add garlic and spices. Return turkey to pan and add canned beans and pumpkin puree. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until its as thick as you like it. I like really thick chili so I let it simmer for a while. The original recipe called for 4 hrs in a crock pot, so that's also an option .

Top with your favorite toppings and try to get your family to guess the secret ingredient. No one will guess there is pumpkin in it. It makes gives the chili a beautifully creamy texture.

BBQ Green Beans

There is something incredibly satisfying about the harvesting of these beans. I am in love with the festival of color. I don't think that one color tastes better than another, I simply plant all three because I love to pick them. When they cook unfortunately the purple ones turn green so I loose that visual gratification, but it's still fun to see two colors on the plate rather than only one.

At this point in the summer we have eaten beans in every way imaginable. We just alternate between beans and squash every night. I'm doing my best to use what the garden gives us, and at the same time trying to not get bored of the same food. So we eat the same food different ways :)

 This was almost like a double whammy in that first of all I didn't have to heat up my house to cook them because they cooked on the BBQ, and second of all it was a new way to eat the same food that we've already eaten plenty of this summer.

Before I began washing the beans I poured a couple of tbs EVOO in a bowl with a couple crushed garlic cloves and some salt and pepper. I mixed this and let it sit while I washed the beans. I did this hoping that the garlic would give some flavor to the oil.

I placed the beans on a double layer of foil, tucked some sliced onions into them and poured the oil mixture over the top. Wrapped the foil up tight and placed it right on the BBQ. I also made a kid friendly packet that only had some butter on it so that my kids would also eat their vegis.

I think it cooked for probably 20-30 mins on a mixture of high and medium heat. I cooked these one time before and let it burn a little (on accident) and I actually think I liked it better that way. Kinda caramelized the onions and gave it a little deeper flavor.

 The kid's packet.

So yummy, so easy, so healthy :)

Baked Beans (Dena's)

I hope you don't mind me just taking your stuff and posting it, but these are so yummy and every time I make them I get a request for the recipe. So here goes, please feel free to tweak this post however you want to :)

1 lb ground beef
1 onion diced
2 cans beans (one dark one light kidney beans work well)
1 can tomato soup
Mustard powder ~ 2 tbs
Brown sugar ~ 2 tbs
S&P to taste

Adjust the mustard and sugar to how ever you like things to taste. As usual, I also add some garlic.
Brown beef, drain and add onions (and garlic if using) cook until onions soften. Add the remainder of the ingredients and heat through.

Mexican Black Beans

Ok, so my favorite thing is Mexcian food... Ever since we moved to Sweden I have had a very hard time finding the right ingredients to make any good mexican food. Plus its a pretty big turn off when you go to buy the black beans and they are called svart bonors here... no joke! ha
Yesterday I decided to get creative and try out a idea I had... loe and behold they were pretty tasty! So, I'll share the idea.
Ingredients:

• Canned Black beans rinsed (or if you are in Sweden a can of Svart bonors! I just cant get enough of saying that)
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• juice of 1 lime

Directions:

• drain and rinse the beans
• sautee the onions and garlic for 2 minutes
• add broth, cilantro, lime, and beans
• Bring to a boil

Now everytime you have black beans think of what they are called in Sweden! its just plain funny! Yummy!

Love,

Dawnie