Monday, January 18, 2010

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

When it gets chilly, I like to eat chili. I have a bunch of chili recipes to share with you this week. I have tried all of them. I did make changes where I felt necessary. My family doesn't like super-spicy chili so I reduced the amount of heat in this chili. Don't let the pumpkin put you off because it does taste really good in there. I also added a cube of bakers chocolate and a dash of cinnamon to give some interesting flavor to the chili. I got this recipe from www.seriouseats.com.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Serves 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can red kidney beans
2 cups (1 14.5 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1-1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
cayenne pepper to taste (at least 3 good shakes)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Procedure

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

2. Saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green chiles, and garlic until tender, about 10 minutes. Make room in the center of the skillet, add turkey and brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt and cayenne.

3. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes. Stir in fresh cilantro. If preferred, serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake

Almost two years ago, in March of 2008, I posted a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake that I had gotten from an old Lang calendar. I just found a similar recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake in the Cake Doctor cookbook by Anne Byrn that I have owned for years. I decided to try the Cake Doctor recipe because I didn't have sour cream in my fridge. I am hoping for great results. The cake is in the oven as I write!

Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake

Vegetable Oil Spray for misting the pan
flour for dusting the pan
1 bar (4 ozs.) German chocolate
1 package (18.25 ozs.) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ozs.) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean
4 large eggs
1 package (6 ozs. or 1 cup)semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan(or 3 8-inch loaf pans) with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Break the German chocolate bar into four pieces. Grate the bar using a food processor or a hand grater until the bar is finely grated. (If you are using a food processor, insert the steel blade and drop the chocolate pieces into the processor one at a time.) Set the grated chocolate aside.

3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine, fold in the grated chocolate, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should look well blended, and the chocolate chips should be evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide it equally among the loaf pans), smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 58 to 60 minutes for a tube pan (50 to 52 minutes for loaf pans). Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes for a tube pan (5 minutes for loaf pans). Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that it is right side up. Allow the cake to cool completely, 30 minutes more, then serve. (Cool loaves out of the pan, on their sides.)

5. Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw, the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook