Make this Now: Pumpkin Chili and Cheddar-Corn Spoon Bread

Happy Saturday! I'm sitting in my PJs drinking coffee and getting ready to tackle my massive kitchen reorganization project (only massive because I am two weeks behind)!

Last night I decided to try (never home)maker's Smoked Pumpkin Chili.

Holy moly. We loved this and will be adding it in heavy rotation to our winter meal plan. The addition of the pumpkin puree made it so thick and creamy! I didn't have smoked paprika, so I used regular and added a few drops of liquid smoke. Awesome!

I also decided to try my hand at spoon bread using this recipe from Martha Stewart's Fresh Flavor Fast cookbook (I love this cookbook!).

It was weird, but delicious. It is very similar in consistency to a souffle.  I guess technically it is a souffle since you whip the egg whites, mix them with the base, and bake!

 

Hey, check me out, I made a souffle on a Friday night!

Martha's recipe included sharp cheddar cheese and corn, so it was a really nice complement to the chili. It was a cold and rainy evening, so all in all, this was the perfect meal!

 I'll be hard at work this weekend on a few projects and some grading. Tonight we have tickets to the Quakes' first MLS playoff game against the New York Red Bulls. I hope it doesn't rain!

Veggilicious Fall Chili

I'm getting ready to leave for Washington DC for the long weekend and want to leave B with food so he doesn't try to survive on granola and taqueria tacos (not that he would mind).

Last week, I doubled an enchilada recipe and stuck half in the freezer, so all he has to do is let it defrost, then smother it with salsa and cheese and stick it in the oven (are you listening, honey?). Tonight, I made a huge pot of chili - perfect for this blustery fall weather!

Veggilicious Fall Chili
Ingredients

• 1T olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1T chili powder
• 1T cumin
• 1 1/2t oregano
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 28oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1T chipotle peppers*
• 13oz can black beans
• 13oz can pinto beans
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 large handful chard, chopped
• Sour cream & cilantro, for garnish

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft.
2. Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add bell pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash. Cook for just a few minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, chipotle peppers, beans, corn,  and chard. Stir to combine.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.
6. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro. Enjoy!

*I buy those cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and run them through my food processor. Then, I freeze them and chip off 1T pieces as I need them (1T equals 1 pepper!). I guess if I were really fancy, I would just freeze them in 1T pieces (maybe in an ice cube tray?), but I'm not that fancy.

I also made my own bread tonight!

I have always been so intimidated by bread, but Jenna's post a week or so ago inspired me.

It was so easy! A lot like making pizza dough, but with more waiting.

I did yoga while the rolls rose.

And after dinner, I cooked up some of those frozen Apricot Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookie dough balls I made a few weeks ago.

Not bad for a Tuesday.

Pizza Friday

You guys know how much we love pizza over here! After a 4-mile run with the hubs, I whipped up a batch of my whole wheat thin crust pizza dough and went to town!

 
But first, run stats:

• Total Mileage: 4mi
• Total Time: 35:45min
• Average Pace: 8:55min/mi

Keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth and drama-free 9-miler tomorrow morning!

On the the pizza! I was originally planning to make Jenna's zucchini pizza. which promises to rock your face, but forgot to buy ricotta at the grocery store this weekend. I have a ton of zucchinis though, so I did a quick switch and went with an old favorite from Smitten Kitchen, a Lemony Zucchini Goat Cheese Pizza.

The other pizza was a Corn, Bacon, Tomato and Basil pizza from Eggs on Sunday.

Sadly, in my haste to get this pizza in the oven (and, consequently, in my mouth) I forgot the tomatoes that I had been saving all week from our CSA box for this very pizza! I didn't even realize it until we had eaten half of it! It was delicious without them, but I'll be sure to include them next time!

Are you all reading Eggs on Sunday? If not, you should be. Amy really knows her stuff and posts some incredible recipes (and gorgeous photos!). I especially love her Ingredient Inspirations page, where you can browse recipes based on ingredient. Always helpful when I buy avocados and want to make something more creative than guacamole!

Note: I'm assuming that you already read Smitten Kitchen because, well, Deb is basically the Queen of the Foodblogging World. And her kid is so cute, I could totally eat him.

Anyway, pizza. I decided to do these in the oven since it's not a billion degrees today and I didn't feel like working super hard to get organized like I usually do when we grill (this might account for the forgotten tomatoes...). I assembled both pizzas on parchment paper while the oven heated to 500, then just slid them onto the pizza stone, parchment paper and all. The parchment paper keeps the dough from sticking to the stone and the dough pulls away from the paper as it cooks. Genius!

I'm considering an official Pizza Friday tradition around here. We used to do Pizza Friday when I was a kid (although it meant takeout!) and it was always something fun to look forward to.

Do you (or your family) have specific dinner theme nights? Mexican Monday? Thai Food Tuesday?