Beginnings ... and Pumpkin Turkey Chili (of course)

Here's a bit about me...in a very small nut shell!


I'm in my early 40's (when did I become "in my 40's"), married and bored! My husband and I raised my 2 nieces for over the last 10 years and they recently graduated high school and are off living life and going to college now. One of them still lives with us part time between school and work, but for the most part we are empty nesters now. My husband Dan recently had some surgery and has been off work for a few months. He started a project of restoring his old 70 Camaro which leads me to this... I need something to do! I like to think of myself as creative and have been looking for something creative to do with my free time. I have a pretty busy career as an escrow officer however during the restoration time my husband will be in the garage and I can only read so many books and watch so many movies. I did start a recent exercise program with a friend from work. She is training for a half marathon and so I told her I would train with her. I haven't decided if I want to sign up for the event yet. We'll see how training goes.


So what do I expect to get out of this blog? Creative wasted time! I don't plan on being a perfectionist. I plan on writing a little bit and putting together a catalog some of my favorite recipes. I watch cooking shows ALL THE TIME and have a ton of recipes I email to myself to try out. I try to do one a week. If not a new recipe I try to make one of our favorite meals on Sundays.


My kitchen is far from tidy and I do not have the "state-of-the-art-handy-dandy-tools." But I love to cook and write... and draw and paint...and and and. You would think I wouldn't be bored! LOL


Let me ask you this? If you could have your grandma's banana bread recipe that was just in her head or you uncle's clam cake recipe all in the same place, would you be thrilled or what!?! That is my plan. To get as many of my favorite recipes old and new in one place to pass on to the youngsters of my family. BTW I really do I wish I had my uncle's clam cake recipe. I'll have to try and recreate it sometime. I recently found my grandmother's Portuguese Sweet Bread recipe. I've made it a couple times and wow the memories that come flooding back from my childhood. We make this at Ostara/Easter time so stay tuned!


I called this blog "The Kitchen Witch" because I'm in LOVE with the fall and Halloween, and a little witchy. Starting this in October is very fitting, trust me! I'm going to ask you to only show love and positivity. Anything nasty will be deleted. I'm not here to be perfect or to be judged. Spelling errors and grammar issues are a given! Duh! I'm here to have fun and to have a hobby of my own.


So let me begin...


Today with the cooler weather here in California (ok so it was in the 70's, but coming from 110 degrees in the summer...70's is cooler to us) I decided to make my Pumpkin Turkey Chili. This recipe came to me a few years back. I was watching a cooking show and they were adding pumpkin to just about everything and all it does is thicken the chili naturally (no flour needed) and give it just a little more heartiness. So I just started to play around with some of my favorite flavors.


To start I chopped these beauties up and some garlic (not shown, sorry I'm new at this...I'll get better I promise!)

While I was chopping those up I browned up some ground turkey with a little bit of olive oil in a pot.

Once the Turkey burger was brown I strained it out of the pot (leaving the juices in the pot, there's a ton of flavor in there!)

So do any of you need one of these to light their stove? Yep "state of the art" kitchen right here!

So in the same pot with all the turkey juices left in there, I added the chopped up veggies (my favorite part, smells heavenly!)

I cooked these for a few minutes and then added some spices (don't worry the recipe to follow!)I like to use Himalayan pink salt in my recipes... you?

Let the spices "bloom" a bit in the veggies...then add this...

BTW, I love owls! :)

Add the turkey burger back into the pot and stir it up! I let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

You can add toppings to the chili... what ever you like. Cheese, green onions, cilantro and even sour cream. I like to add red chili flakes for some heat. I like things a bit on the spicy side. If you don't like spicy of course don't use red pepper flake! Get mild chili powder as well. I think I did pretty good for my first post. I'll get better and better as time goes on.

Recipe:

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

1-lb. of Ground Turkey, browned
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped (optional)
2 pasilla or pablano peppers, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2-3 garlic cloves (ok I used more but it really is to taste)
1 can of pumpkin puree
2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes
2 TBLS tomato paste
1 cup (approx.) of low sodium beef broth (you can use more or less depending on how thick you like your chili)
2 TBLS of cumin
1 TBLS of Oregano
1 TBLS of chili powder
1 tsp of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBLS of olive oil

Topping Ideas: No rules here folks!

Chopped up cilantro
chopped green onions
sour cream
shredded cheese

Directions:

In a large pot heat up olive oil and brown the ground turkey.

Remove the turkey and set aside in a bowl. Leave the juices from the turkey in the pan.

Add the cut-up veggies to the pot and cook on med for about 5-6 minutes until soft.

Add all the spices to the veggies and mix together for about 2 minutes. At this point I add some salt and pepper. Maybe about a tsp. each. You can add more at the end if needed.

Then add the Tomato paste and stir that around to get it mix in.

Add the rest of the ingredients and the ground turkey. Stir and let simmer on low for 30. The longer it simmers or sits the better! If it gets to thick you can more beef broth to thin it out, it is totally to your preference.

Serve and enjoy with your favorite toppings!



Now for a little witchiness...

Cook with purpose, put love and good energy into everything you make. Always stir clockwise and think of the things you need in your life. Love, money, goals. Prepare foods with intention and put it out in the universe what you want. Bring magic into your kitchen each and every day!

Cheers!