pumpkin turkey chili & cornbread

I went a little pumpkin crazy and so I looked in my pantry to see I’d bought a total of four cans of pumpkin. I started to look through recipe for something that was not dessert which contained pumpkin. When I came across recipes for pumpkin turkey chili, I was intrigued. I loved the pumpkin hummus, and hummus isn’t something you would typically think to pair with something slightly sweet like pumpkin. Between the two recipes, I went through another two cans of pumpkin.

I started off with a simple recipe for pumpkin cornbread. This was so ridiculously easy. I’m already planning to make this to contribute to Thanksgiving, when my parents come up from Alabama and we all squeeze in and do Thankgsiving sans dining table (or a table at all actually). For this one, I just had to pick up some cornmeal and I was set. I made this without the pecans, as I wasn’t sure how much the walnuts I had would change up the mix. I also used egg beaters, which came out just fine. These are also just the right amount of sweet for you to get away with serving them for breakfast, so none will go to waste even if you’re dealing with a lot of leftovers.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Then make a well in the center for the egg mixture. Stir together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil, and pour this into the large bowl. Stir just until blended. Add pecans (optional). Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

For the turkey pumpkin chili recipe, I opted to use my big spaghetti pot. The lid I had didn’t actually fully cover it, so I was worried it might not cook as well. Thankfully no issues. The only problem I had on this one was I kept losing stray pieces of the yellow and green peppers to the floor, which would be subsequently inhaled by Miss Dixie. I really liked that AllRecipes even included in a recommendation as to wine pairing along with each recipe. Their recommendation for Red Zinfandel was an excellent match. I’d see a Syrah being suitable as well, although hard to go wrong with a good Zin in my book.

This made quite a lot of chili for one person. I confirmed today that at least it does reheat well, which is very important. As I’ve found is often the case with turkey, it might could use a tad more seasoning. I’d be curious to try the recipe again and include in just a tad more chili powder. I’d never had sour cream as a garnish for chili, but I have to admit it was quite good. I also think the shredded cheddar is a must have. Sadly I forgot this part when bringing in the leftovers today and learned that is definitely the case!

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 dash salt
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Warm oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, peppers, and garlic until slightly tender. Stir in turkey and cook until slightly brown throughout. Drain and and mix in canned tomatoes and pumpkin, adding the seasonings (chili powder, pepper, salt). Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Garnish with cheese and sour cream.

The two served to compliment each other quite nicely. Not too pumpkin-y in the end. I’d highly recommend this very easy meal for a simple seasonal variation on a nice staple for cooler weather. After this, I might take a mini hiatus from cooking all things pumpkin. Maybe…