Sweet Potato Chili

Fall is, or was, in the air. August is teasing me, I think. I've been about ready to pull out scarves and sweaters several times now. You know, that pleasant nip on your nose as you walk out the door? Cool breezes blowing leaves around? I felt it, I really did! Since fall is my favorite season, I get a little excited when I think it's about that time again. But this week has told me to calm down. Soon, it will be here soon, but not yet. August wants one more chance to be summery and hot and muggy. Then fall can come. I'll try and be patient just a little longer.

In preparation for fall, though (cause you gotta be prepared!), I pulled out one of my all-time favorite chili recipes. It's sweet, but has a little spicy kick. The combination is just fabulous. The perfect thing for a late-summer-acting-like-fall day.

I was happy to find a couple of sweet potatoes at the farmer's market this weekend that were almost the size of footballs. Huge. And delicious. This recipe calls for 2 medium sweet potatoes, but I only needed one of these monsters. Regrettably, I forgot to take pictures. In fact, I only have a couple for this post, but all you really want is the recipe anyway, right? So . . . on to chili . . .

Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients: 

2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped

2 pounds ground beef, turkey, venison, etc,. 

1 28ish ounce jar of original spaghetti sauce

2 -3 tomatoes diced or 1 can diced tomatoes

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 can black beans

1 can red kidney beans

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar 

1/4 cup ancho chili powder

2 tablespoons red chili powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Brown ground meat in a large pot (I used my cast iron dutch oven, which works very nicely for chili, but I think any large pot should work fine). When meat is almost all the way cooked, add the brown sugar (gives the meat a nice flavor), onions and sweet potatoes. Cook covered for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add in the spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, beans, and cider vinegar, and mix well. Let that cook a couple of minutes. 

Mix together the chili powders, the cayenne, and the salt and pepper (probably about a tablespoon of each, and then you may add more when you taste test). Add the mixture to the chili and stir in thoroughly. 

The last step is my favorite. Taste test! Add more sweet, more spice, more salt, or whatever you think the chili needs. The dominant traits should be sweet first, with a kick of spice in the aftertaste. Then get a nice big bowl, maybe some cornbread, and enjoy! 

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

So, here's a good recipe for a cold day. This is one of my husband's favorites. It's just a good, hearty veggie chowder that my sister and I came up with one chilly day when we were messing around in the kitchen. I suppose it could be made without the milk too, and it would be just a hearty veggie soup. Experiment, anyone?

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

(Serves approx 6-8)

4 cups water

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

 4 potatoes, chopped (I like to leave the skins on, to make it a little heartier. And I usually judge about 1 potato per person, or two smaller ones)

2 cans of corn (or about 12 oz of frozen corn)

1 large onion, chopped

1/8 cup lemon juice

2 cups milk

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp crushed red pepper

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop all of the veggies into small pieces. (I was missing the onions this particular time. Not the same.)

Cook the water, celery, carrots, potatoes, onions, and corn in the crock pot on high heat until vegetables are soft, about 3-4 hours. Turn the heat to low.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour into the milk. Slowly pour this mixture into the soup, whisking until fully incorporated. Do not let it boil. Add the lemon juice*, red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the flour's starchy flavor is cooked out. (This means you have to keep sampling your soup . . . darn.) The soup will be slightly spicy. 

*I add the lemon because i gives the vegetables a nice "pop."

I like to serve this with homemade rolls. I will try to post my recipe for those soon! Enjoy! 

Butternut Squash Soup

So tonight for dinner I tried a new recipe.

Not new as in, I've been searching for just the right one, recipe. New as in, never made this dish before. Ever.

That can be intimidating. Especially when you're cooking with a vegetable you've never cooked with before, and you're not even sure where to start. Thank goodness for the internet. Butternut Squash can be conquered with the proper know-how.

So I have a confession. I don't follow recipes. Well, I mean, I do . . . to an extent. A recipe to me is more like a launching pad for me to create my own unique recipe. Generally this works out great. There have been a few incidents . . . which we won't mention . . . but those are few and far between.

So saying, I did need to see a recipe today, to at least get an idea of what I was doing. If you're interested, it is here.

Here is the recipe I finally came up with after some tweaks. I made some homemade bread bowls to put it in and when hubby came home for dinner, it was a hit! I will definitely be making this one again. It is just a nice, lovely fall day soup, and it has so much rich flavor! Plus, it's healthy! Great for people on a vegetarian diet.

Butternut Squash Soup

3 pounds of Butternut Squash (about 1 large Squash)

3 cups of Water

1 large Onion

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups milk (or cream, if preferred)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 tsps of Cumin (to taste)

Olive Oil

Parsley

Thyme

Cut the squash in half and scrape out all the seeds. Cut it into pieces, about 8-10. Lay these on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with olive oil until lightly coated. Bake at 350 degrees  in the oven until the squash is soft when a fork is inserted (approximately 1-1 1/2 hours). 

Meanwhile, chop up the onion and boil it with the garlic in the 3 cups of water. Do this about 20 minutes before the squash is done, so it can get a strong flavor. Add salt and pepper, parsley and thyme, to taste (should be a nice, full, flavorful broth).

When the squash is done, let it cool, and then take the peel off and puree it in a food processor with the onion and garlic water. While pureeing, add the milk. When it reaches the consistency you want, transfer back into the pot and heat, stirring often. Do not boil. Add the cumin. When heated through, take off of heat and serve. 

Top with cream, grated cheddar cheese, or fresh herbs. Serves approx 6.

(***Sorry, I don't have any of my own pictures. This one's just an online photo. Still working on getting a card for our camera. Soon, though. :) ***)