Yesterday was the ward Halloween Party. It was a pretty good one. Awesome decorations, sinful cornbread (with honey butter AND raspberry butter!), music and dancing for the kids (and my husband. Yes! Marcelo came! Shocking!) and a chili cook off between ward members. People really participated in this one! There were tons of pots of chili to choose from and you could tell that people really liked showing off their different styles of chili. I bet there were about 25 different kinds of chili, but only 19 of them participated in the "contest".
Andy let me tell you why I participated in the contest: I hate beans. I know most people find them an integral part to chili, but I hate them. And I hate having to meticulously sort through my bowl of chili to pull out all the beans. So I signed up to bring a pot of chili so that I for sure knew that there would be something palatable for myself. And after about 3 minutes of searching online, I found this awesome recipe for a Pumpkin Turkey Chili that I wanted to try. I love pumpkin! I love ground turkey! AND NO BEANS!!! This one was it. I made it really fast (I didn't leave myself enough time to do everything after my run, and taking a shower and getting the baby ready. I'm such a bad procrastinator!) and we ran off to the church for the party.
Like I said, it was a good party. Even if it did start really late. But it let everyone get there on "Mormon Standard Time" and find a place for their chili. So after I had eaten my weight in cornbread (Seriously, I had 6 of them. And while they were quite small-1 1/2 inches squared- that didn't justify the whole cup of honey butter I put on as well) I watched as my child ran around and found her new best friend: The girl dressed up as the Little Mermaid. Seriously, my kid would've followed that little girl into highway traffic, that's how devoted she was to her. Or should I say to the Little Mermaid.
And then it was time to award the prizes for the chili winners. And I don't know how to say this, BUT I WON!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!! Seriously, how did that happen? I demand a recount! There is no way I won! My chili was NOT spicy (but maybe that helped?) nor did it have beans (but again, maybe that helped?) but it was the winner. The only thing i can think that put it over the top was that I added sour cream and cheese to the top of my "judging cup." But I don't think that was cheating. It's what the recipe called for! But seriously, anything with sour cream and cheese on top is going to taste freaking awesome.
We won a $20 gift card to Pastorero, a great taquitoria close to our house that has pictures of Guanajuato inside. It makes me reminisce. Anyway, I think that many MANY people in the ward feel robbed.. Because hardly anyone was like "Oh, congratulations!" I'm sure they were expecting someone else to win. Like the lady in our ward that owns Sweet Tooth Bakery, or the professional caterers in our ward. Yeah, maybe one of them. Not someone who found a recipe off the internet and who had never made chili before in her life. Oh well, I WON!!!!!!
So I know you are all DYING for it, so here is the recipe for the chili:
Pumpkin Turkey Chil
From allrecipes.com
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream
Cooking Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.
Serves 6
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 303
Total Fat: 18.1g
Cholesterol: 76mg
***My own changes***I actually added more salt than it asked for. I tasted it and it was a little too bland and so I added some more. I also added some of my special blend of spices I call "Alino en Polvo" It has cumin, garlic salt, pepper, salt and onion powder. And a little oregano. I added a bit of that too. Not too much, just like a tablespoon. If you want me to make you a batch of "Alino en Polvo" I will be happy to do it. I add it to EVERYTHING. It's my own creation and it reminds Marcelo of home.
So that's my exciting news. I ousted the whole ward in the chili challenge and made enemies of the whole R.S.BC.
Here is the link for allrecipes.com. So you can see a picture of the food:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Turkey-Chili/Detail.aspx
Go make it! And then tell me how it went for you. What contests did YOU win?
Saturday, October 30, 2010
I demand a re-count!
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7 comments:
Woot!!! That is awesome! Good job!
I am one of those people who cannot imagine chili without beans, nor can I imagine chili with pumpkin in it. Nathan doesn't like peppers but maybe I will try this anyway, because it is award-winning, after all! How exciting. :-)
We just got home from our trunk-or-treat and we had sloppy joes. I kind of miss the potluck of soups and chilis that we had last year. But on the plus side, with the assembly-line approach they had going on with absolutely no variety (all sloppy joe mixes came from the same recipe and were dumped into the same pot and scooped up by the activities committee members), we didn't have to wait in line for food. There was no dawdling in line at all. Yes, this may be a ward party first. :-)
YOU ROCK and you make me LAUGH. I'd have the exact same reaction if I won a chili cook-off!! You are doubly amazing because you read my mind about the recipe. When you wrote the title I was immediately wanting to try the recipe and you provided it. WOOT! Thanks. We'll be trying this--although I love beans (much to my family's chagrin). I may have to add a few anyway...we'll see. I want to try Alino en Polvo. Not a huge fan of cumin but I like to try new things.
Just another way my daughter would LOVE your daughter--I can totally see her following around a Little Mermaid. I'm actually surprised she didn't want to BE her for Halloween. What did Evi dress up as?
Okay--now I'm dying for some cornbread...
i have won exactly zero contests. you are awesome! way to go! asombro me da!
Bravo, once again. Champion runner, champion chef... I can't keep up. I was SO ready to try that recipe until I saw that you had to add stuff in the end. I can't handle veering away from a recipe. I need a batch of your special concoction so I know I'm getting your award-winning results. It is too secret to spill your magic mix proportions?
PS- I need you to post a hair update. I read "Curly Girl" and I'm curious how your life is going without shampoo.
The reason you won is it tasted good and it wasn't like other chilis. Chili is all the same, beans, meat, red stuff. How different can it be? But pumpkin chili? The judges were just sick of red sauce. That is awesome Lish. It feels so good to win something. You definately made some enemies.
Way to go! I am really curious to try the recipe too, but I agree that we need more details on the tweaks cuz I too need assurance that I can get award-winning results. :)
That is a pretty great prize they gave you! Better than the usual candy bar or whatever.
LOLOLOL!!! That is AWESOME! You beat out everyone else! I can't say I'm that surprised, you are my go-to teacher whenever I'm cooking or baking. I still think you need to start your own catering business and add turkey pumpkin chili to your specialties. I'm telling ya, you will make millions!
I'm with Amy, i like me some beans!
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