Chili: the "it has a great personality" of foods |
Perhaps I wanted to keep the pumpkin winning streak going following Pumpkin Cookie Cake and Pumpkin Chai Muffins, or perhaps I was jonesing for a fix after Starbucks' annual inexplicable post-Halloween removal of pumpkin spice lattes (It should be considered a crime against humanity, dammit!). Either way, when Sacha invited people over for some Sunday football, I knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate pumpkin. Since manly men hitting each other repeatedly is not really a desserty affair (although, I like to think it was the original failed pitch of Cupcake Wars), I decided I had to find a way to combine it with hearty meat. This pumpkin chili was the perfect call for a lazy "autumn" day (yeah, we don't really have seasons here in Houston).
Adapted from All Recipes
Servings: 8-10
Time: 2+ hours
Even Owlie got in on the pumpkin fun. Not pictured: the mess he made on my table after drinking a beer his size. |
Your kitchen will already smell good at this point |
2 lbs ground beef
Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 green bell peppers, diced
2-3 jalapenos, minced and seeded
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained
1 28 oz can peeled and dice tomatoes in juices
20 oz tomato juice (about half a big can)
15 oz canned pureed pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/4 cup white sugar
Salt to taste
Sriracha to taste
Fritos
Glorious, heaping amounts of football
Getting there but still needs some more reducing |
- Brown the beef in a large pot with a few ounces of pumpkin beer.
- At the same time, sauté the onion, green bell pepper, jalapenos and garlic in a small amount of olive oil and a few more ounces of the beer. Let cook until the onions become translucent and the veggies become fragrant.
- Drain the beef and add the veggies into the large pot.
- Mix in the drained kidney beans, tomato juice, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, chili powder, sugar and remaining beer.
- Let simmer for 1-2 hours until well reduced (you want chunky not overly soupy). Season with salt and sriracha to your liking.
- Scoop into a bowl and top with awesomely crunchy Fritos.
- Enjoy with large amounts of football, beer, ribs and lounging.
Now properly chunkilicious and ready for football |
I guess the chili was a hit... |
Carefully crafted and adapted from the Legendary Laura the RA recipe. Her guac was the first time I knew what love was. |
Sacha's Smoked Rib Shack
Sacha tends to his ribs with even more care than he will show to his children one day. |
The sauced variety was just the right amount of messy. |
The large bits of pepper really brought the rub to another level. |
Look at that glorious layer of smoke. If only you could smell it and see it fall off the bone. |