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.

All I Wanna Do...

...is SLEEP.

I have a confession.

I have not gone running since my 9-mile dress rehearsal run on Sunday. I was supposed to run on Tuesday, but I was exhausted when I came home from my classroom so I said I would do my run on Wednesday morning. I overslept and said I would run that afternoon. I came home and fell asleep on the couch for over an hour and was so groggy when I woke up that I just said, screw it.

I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me until Brian gently reminded me that, "You know... it's that... time." Ah yes, that time. I hate using "that time of the month" as an excuse for anything because I hate it when my students do that ("I can't take my vocab quiz because I have cramps." WHAT?!), but maybe running 9 miles on the first day of my period and then working for 10+ hours moving furniture and writing curriculum for three days in a row after a summer of sleeping in and laying out by the pool was a little much?

I kind of feel like this... but all day long.

Anyway, I took my sheer exhaustion as an excuse to make a comfort food dinner - pasta with meat sauce. Except not really.

Zucchini Pasta with Mushroom & Gypsy Pepper Ragout
inspired by FBB

Ingredients

• 2-3 zucchini
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4-5 small gypsy peppers (or 1 bell pepper), chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carton of mushrooms, chopped
• 3 cups tomatoes (I used canned because I'm exhausted)
• 1T olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Saute the onions in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes (until they are nice and soft). Don't cook them too high or they will burn.
2. Add the garlic and gypsy peppers.
3. Add the mushrooms once the onions and peppers are soft. Stir to combine.
4. When the mushrooms are wilted and most of the excess moisture is gone, add the tomatoes.
5. Stir all of the ingredients to combine and let simmer over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. While the sauce is cooking, use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from your zucchinis. 
7. Then, use the same peeler to create ribbons of zucchini flesh by running the peeler down the length of the zucchini. Turn the zucchini 90 degrees after each ribbon so you are peeling evenly on all sides.
8. Stop peeling once the seeds are exposed.
9. Quickly saute the zucchini "pasta" in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Don't cook these for more than 2-3 minutes - you just want to take the raw "edge" off.
10. Top with sauce and Parmesan cheese.

I always forget how awesome zucchini pasta is. And this sauce? I die. I could eat this every single day. Fortunately, I made enough to feed a small army.

What is your favorite "comfort food?"

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?