Tag: chili

Butternut Squash Chili

1 Comment

I really need a hobby.

Because my phone storage cannot handle me being Lou’s personal photographer/videographer.

Literally all I do is take 235 photos & videos of her doing the exact same mundane thing each day.

And I love every minute of it. And I hope my friends do, too, because I send them to everyone. People are probably like, “Oh, great, another photo of Rachel’s baby laying in her pack n play sucking on her pacifier, excellent.” I’m sorry, I really cannot help I birthed the world’s cutest baby. It’s a blessing & a curse! I can’t keep this cuteness to myself. She must be shared with the world! She’s been here for 6 weeks & I swear I have no fewer than 1,000 photos. I went to the doctor today & it took everything in me not to just shove my phone in everyone’s faces and say, “SEE, see what I made!”

Now how do I get her face on a jar of some pureed peas?

Time: 1.5 hours (prep + cooking) | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1 butternut squash, chopped into cubes
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 1 tbsp. of garlic, minced
  • 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo (depending on your preference), chopped
  • 1 tbsp. of chili powder
  • 2 tsp. of cumin
  • 1 tsp. of paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cans of black beans, rinsed + drained
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 2-3 cups of vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp. of olive oil
  • S+P, to taste
  • Avocados, for serving
  • Cilantro, for serving
  • Tortilla chips, for serving

How to:

  • Heat oil in a stock pot over medium heat
  • Add onion + S+P, cook 3-4 minutes
  • Add jalapeno + bell peppers + butternut squash + S+P, cook another 6-7 minutes
  • Add garlic, cook another minute
  • Add chili powder + cumin + paprika + cinnamon, cook another minute
  • Add chipotle peppers, cook another minute
  • Add bay leaf + black beans + tomatoes + broth
  • Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover + simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally
  • Serve hot with cilantro + avocado + tortilla strips
  • Curl up in the warmest blankie + stare at your twinkling Christmas tree + stuff yourself until you explode

Adapted from here!

Loaded Chili Spuds

2 Comments

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Our world, man.

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Idk about y’all, but I feel a heaviness and a sadness I just haven’t in a long time.

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I’ve been praying for a while for the Lord to open my eyes to the injustices of the world and not just leave me feeling numb or paralyzed by my own fear and anxiety.

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Welp, they are WIDE OPEN, Big Man! I’m hearing you loud and clear! It’s not that I haven’t realized systemic racism is rampant in our country. I’ve just felt too overwhelmed by the issue to do anything about it which I realize is a privileged and lame excuse. I was happy to shut up last week and just listen and learn. I’m still pretty overwhelmed and anxious and incredibly scared to say/do the wrong thing. But I guess we have to get uncomfortable if we want to grow and be better, and that’s all I want to do!

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And it’s time something other than my midsection grows.

 

 

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4 spuds

Ingredients:

  • 4 russet baking potatoes, scrubbed clean + holes poked throughout
  • Chili recipe (any leftovers taste great with some brown rice!)
  • Green onion, for serving
  • 4 tbsp. of olive oil
  • S+P, to taste

How to:

  • Preheat oven to 450
  • Drizzle a tbsp. of olive oil on each potato with some S+P, rub all over
  • Wrap each loosely in foil + place on a baking sheet
  • Bake 55-60 minutes or until tender
  • Meanwhile, make chili
  • To serve, split potato down the middle + top with chili + green onions
  • Dig in face first

Pumpkin Chili

12 Comments

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How y’all get so creative?

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Like, days before Halloween I see you people showing UP in some of the best costumes ever.

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Y’all clever as HECK!

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My lame behind has NEVER had interesting inspiration for Halloween costumes. Ever since childhood I have just wanted to be a sexy princess or sexy rockstar. Like, I have a very vivid memory of being Princess Jasmine at maybe 3 or 4 years old. Living in DC, it was plumb freezing on Halloween so my evil mother forced me to wear an undershirt under my lil Jasmine crop top. I threw a FIT! The audacity! I wanted that baby belly out and about! Then there was the Pocahontas year. This time there was a long black wig that scratched the HECK out of me and the bangs came over my eyes a lil and just didn’t make me feel like the sexy princess I was going for at 5. Another tantrum. Fast forward to being Amy Winehouse a couple of times and then skipping several years because my anxiety didn’t allow me to even THINK about dressing up for fear of being made fun of. I peaked in 2010 and was actually something kewl – Garr and I were a hotdog – him the bun, me the weiner. That is literally the HEIGHT of my Halloween creativity. A processed meat.

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So this year I went back to my roots and was Ally from A Star is Born, obviously.

 

 

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of pumpkin puree
  • 1 can of black beans, rinsed + drained
  • 1 can of pinto beans, rinsed + drained
  • 1 package of soyrizo
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 tbsp. of garlic, minced
  • 1 10 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles or fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 fresh roma tomato, diced
  • 2 cups of vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. of chili powder
  • 1 tbsp. of cumin
  • 1 tsp. of smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. of oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. of crushed red pepper
  • S+P, to taste
  • Cilantro, for serving
  • Avocado, for serving
  • Cherry tomatoes, for serving

How to:

  • Heat a skillet over medium heat
  • Add soyrizo + cook until crisp, about 7-8 minutes, remove + set aside
  • Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat
  • Add onion + S+P, cook 3-4 minutes
  • Add red pepper, cook another 2 minutes
  • Add garlic, cook 1 more minute
  • Add chili powder + cumin + smoked paprika + oregano + crushed red pepper + some S+P, cook for a minute
  • Add in pumpkin + tomatoes + beans + broth + a lil water if you want it a lil soupier, bring to a boil, reduce heat + let simmer for 25 minutes
  • Add soyrizo, simmer another 5 minutes
  • Serve warm with cilantro + avocado + cherry tomato halves
  • Get your cauldron boiling + your spell book out + perform some Halloween mischief while drowing in your pumpkin chili