Pumpkin Chili

On my rainy Sunday afternoon I stopped by my friend Sarah's to get my camera, which I managed to leave at Oktoberfest on Saturday!  Thank god Sarah picked it up for me!!  Though I have my new DSLR, I really like having my point-and-shoot for portability. 

Sunday also happened to be Sarah's birthday, so I decided to bring her some cupcakes to celebrate while I was over.

I brought her some cookies and cream chocolate cupcakes.  So yummy!  She immediately squealed with excitement when I came in with them and I was glad I was there to share some cake with her for her birthday :)

Upon checking my camera once I had it back, I found that she left me this funny surprise:

Nice, right??  LOL

After hanging with Sarah for a bit, I headed over to Y2Yoga for an hour long afternoon Power Yoga class.  It felt great to get stretched out after my 8 miler yesterday.  Cassie went too and it was her first yoga class.  She did great and you would not have known she hasn't done yoga before!  She was totally attempting head stands and crow and anything the instructor threw out there.

After class I headed back home in the drizzly weather.  I arrived home, showered, and promptly put on lounge wear and started thinking about dinner.  It didn't take me long to decide on warm yummy chili for dinner.  I also figured I would put a spin on it and use pumpkin!

Here's my take on Pumpkin Chili.

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium carrot chopped

1/2 green pepper

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1/2 can pumpkin

1 cup stock (chicken or veggie)

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin

1 teaspoon of chili pepper

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne (or as much as you like)

1 tablespoon of chipoltle salsa

 Saute the onion, carrot, and pepper in the olive oil in a large pot til softened.  Then add the tomatoes and pumpkin and all the spices/salsa and stir all together.  Add the stock and bring to a boil, then turn low to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Add the beans last, stirring in, then continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so til all the flavors meld together.

 I topped mine with shredded cheddar and a little plain yogurt.

I loved the sweetness and creaminess the pumpkin and cinnamon added.  Very yummy!