Veggie Chili

My friend Rebecca shared this recipe with me a few years ago. The first time I had it at her house, she sent me home with a big tupperware full of leftovers because it makes such a huge amount. Ever since, it has been in our meal rotation every fall and winter. I have kept the basic recipe the same, but bulked up the veggie portion even more (along with adding butternut squash).

I love garnishing this wish a few cubes of avocado and some freshly chopped cilantro- it adds some fresh and creamy flavors to the finished product.

Veggie Chili
(Print Recipe)

Ingredients
2 medium zucchini (or yellow squash), chopped
3-4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
3-4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cans diced tomatoes (14 1/2 oz. each)
10 oz frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannelloni beans drained and rinsed
1 jar salsa
salt and pepper
optional garnishes- black olives, hot sauce, diced avocado, fresh chopped cilantro

Directions
Combine all ingredients (except garnishes) in a large slow cooker (stir well). Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours or high for 5 hours. Garnish as desired.

I love the slow cooker because I can leave it and forget it. I also love setting it in the morning and coming home to the delicious smell of chili in our house... not to mention, the fact that dinner is done when I walk through the door! I am not a morning person, so I either chop everything up the night before... or put Nate in charge of it.

Such a hearty and delicious recipe!

Yesterday, I completed putting up all my Fall decorations. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy this time of year? I particularly love the orange lights along the top of our fireplace, brightening up the corner of our living room.

Chili and orange string lights... yes, it's the little things.

Acorn Squash with Spiced Couscous

Happy second day of Autumn! I thought I'd welcome in the season with this acorn squash dish. Everything about it tastes perfect for cool crisp weather.

I even took advantage of the pumpkin-like seeds and toasted them for a salty, fall-ish snack.

I am loving all the fall vegetables I am beginning to see in the stores and at the farmer's market!

Acorn Squash with Spiced Couscous
(Print Recipe)
Adapted from Williams Sonoma Vegetarian

Ingredients
2 Acorn squash, halved, seeds removed
1 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons sliced almonds
2 tablespoons currants
1/2 honeycrisp apple, cored and diced (or any apple variety of your choosing)
optional- roasted acorn squash seeds

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Place acorn squash in a baking dish, cut side down. Add a little water and bake for 45 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cinnamon, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper to taste. Cover, remove from heat, and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir in the almonds, currants, and apple. Spoon the filling into the roasted squash (about a cup of filling per squash half). Garnish with roasted acorn squash seeds*, if desired.

*To roast the seeds, separate them from the pulp and rinse. Spray a baking pan with oil, spread out the seeds in a single layer on the pan, and sprinkle generously with salt. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until slightly browned and crispy. Stir occasionally. Note: If you use these for a garnish, sprinkle them on right before you enjoy the dish- otherwise they will get soggy and chewy.

I'm not sure which I enjoyed more- the meal, or the roasted seeds!

Happy Fall!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Happy Labor Day! To celebrate the long weekend and the beginning of September, I broke out a few Fall decorations and made pumpkin spice lattes! It is rainy here today, so I have had plenty of time to spend in the house. I'm just happy I have the day off. Look at this frothy deliciousness.

I already had all the ingredients (thankfully). The pumpkin pie syrup was leftover from last year. I got it at World Market. Here is everything you need to make this taste of fall latte.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
(Print Recipe)

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup double strength coffee
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie syrup or pumpkin spice syrup (I used sugar free)
a few pinches of pumpkin pie spice
Truvia or any sweetener, to taste (optional) I used one teaspoon

Directions
Heat one cup of almond milk in the microwave or on the stovetop, until heated but not boiling. Stir in syrup and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Froth with a milk frother, until slightly foamy. Pour into a large mug. Pour coffee on top. Sprinkle with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Stir in additional sweetener if desired.

This recipe can easily be adjusted to your taste. Add more coffee for a stronger latte, or use espresso. Or make it a steamer, and don't add any coffee! The only thing that really has calories in this recipe (if you use sugar free syrup) is the almond milk, which is only 35 calories per cup! One of the many reasons I LOVE almond milk.

While drinking this, I may have added a few pins to my Fall Pinterest pin board. And here are a few of my decorations that I put out so far.

Can you tell I'm excited about the change in seasons? The weather hasn't even started to change here yet, but I'm doing as much as I can to make it feel like Autumn! Sipping pumpkin spice latte's always makes it feel a little more like Fall.

A Walk Through NoDa

A few weeks ago, Nate and I met up with some friends at Growler's Pour House, in NoDa (North Davidson). NoDa is a very eclectic part of Charlotte. This is how the NoDA website describes this historic district: NoDa is now the home to the City's best collection of galleries and performance venues; some of the funkiest full service restaurants including authentic Cajun cooking, Southwest cuisine, a Creative pizza eatery and more. When we got there, it was 15 minutes before Growler's opened! Here are a few pics from the walk we took, while waiting for the bar to open.

Then Growler's opened!

I was glad I had brought along my camera- it kept me well occupied!

Doughnuts, Puppy Party, & Back to School

This last week has been crazy busy for me. First and foremost, my cute little pup turned five! We celebrated with some puppy cake and doughnuts at our favorite dog-friendly bar in Charlotte, Thomas Street Tavern. Dogs are allowed in their large back patio area. There is plenty of seating, as well as some outdoor games! Think ping pong, corn hole, and a ring and hook game. We mostly stuck to my favorite activity, relaxing with a drink in hand... and a dog on my lap.

I baked blueberry doughnuts, for the people at the party.

I made two batches of blueberry glaze- the darker one just has more blueberry juice in it.

They were yummy, but slightly "healthy" tasting, due to the small amount of sugar in the recipe. The blueberries added a nice juicy burst in each bite.

The remnants of frosting the doughnuts, made a very pretty piece of waxed paper!

Pretty and tasty!

We got Lilly the dog cake at Canine Cafe. 

She loved it!

So did Lacey!

Sydney ate hers too fast for me to get a picture!

The pups took home pumpkin muttins as their party favors.

Then, before I knew it, we had our first day of school!! 

My new class seems wonderful so far, it will just take me awhile to get back into this routine! A few of my little darlings brought me teacher gifts: a blanket from India, an "I will miss you when I move in four days" card (yes, she's only in my class for 4 days), an apple for the teacher, and a freshly picked cucumber. They are too cute.

My kitchen and I are going through withdrawals, due to my lack of cooking lately. Hopefully I will be able to get back to it again sometime soon!

The Intermingling of Summer and Fall

I got my first taste of Fall today! Literally. We got Honeycrisp apples at the farmer's market. From what I have observed, these apples are only available in the Fall (In North Carolina anyway). They are appropriately described as "explosively crisp" on the Honeycrsip website I checked out today. While it still feels like summer here and there are still plenty of summer fruits and veggies available, I was pleased to dip into this Fall flavor I love so much!

We got cherries and Honeycrisps at the market today.

A beautiful combination of Summer and Fall flavors.

Simple. Pretty. Colorful.

After tasting this apple, my mind has been in complete Autumn mode the rest of the day. My little sweetheart Lilly turns five tomorrow! I decided to make her "Pumpkin Muttins" as a birthday treat. The entire house smelled of pumpkin goodness.

These muffins are so good- I tried a piece, and people can not only eat, but enjoy these! This recipe is much sweeter than other dog treat recipes I have made, so give them sparingly to your pet!

Pumpkin Muttins
(Print Recipe)
Adapted from Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 flax eggs (3 tablespoons flaxseed meal, mixed with 1/2 cup water plus one tablespoon water)
3/4 cups honey
1/4 cup safflower oil or canola oil
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
pepita seeds for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini muffin pan with cupcake liners. Mix the flax egg and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour all wet ingredients into the well, including the flax egg (make sure it has thickened up first). Mix the wet ingredients together, then begin mixing in the dry ingredients until everything is well combined. Pour into cupcake liners in the mini muffin pan. Fill all the way to the top- these will not rise much. Stick one pepita seed into the center of each muffin, so it is showing half way. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool completely. Store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer.

This is before I baked them. Notice how much I filled them.

And here they are all ready for pups to enjoy!

Happy birthday Lilly!

Enjoy your pumpkin muttins!

And I'll enjoy the intertwining flavors of Summer and Fall!

And maybe... just maybe, I'll have a pumpkin muttin too... don't judge me. You'd eat one if you knew how good they were :)

Oatmeal Carrot Dog Treats

I feel like I have had a pretty productive day today. With summer coming to an end, I realized all the things I hadn't gotten done yet, that I was so sure I would find time to do during my vacation. The procrastinator in me prevails every time. So today I decided to follow through on some of my goals, before my spare time dwindles into almost nothing.

I baked Lilly some treats! (Recipe to follow)

I organized my closet.

I donated old shoes and clothes! It had been awhile since I had gone through my closet!

I Organized/sorted through my jewelry.

My sister made this earring holder for me a few years ago- I LOVE it!

Can you tell where I take Lilly's bows off at night?

I organized the pantry (well, started to).

I'd call that enough for today. The closet was the biggest task- it was actually a two day process. 

I of course found a little time to browse pinterest and read new posts from my favorite blogs. I also read a heartbreaking article about starving dogs in rural India. I am so glad that The Karma Dog Project is trying to help them and I wish there was more I could do! They obviously need donations to fund this project so if this tugs on your heart strings at all and you are able to donate, they would put it to good use (I'm donating what I can with my very limited funds right now). Every little bit helps!

Lilly loves her vegetables. We often give her leftover veggies mixed in with her dinner and as treats. Can you guess what was mixed in with her breakfast this morning?

Beets :)

I decided to make her some dog treats based on another of her favorite veggies, that won't stain her face blood red. Carrots! She absolutely loves these oatmeal carrot treats and they are healthy for her!

Oatmeal Carrot Dog Treats

(Print Recipe)

Ingredients

1 mashed banana

1 cup food processed carrots (until coarsely chopped)

1/4 cup applesauce

1/8 cup water

1 cup oats

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup oat flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, until the right consistency to roll out. Add a little extra water if too dry, a little extra flour if too sticky. Roll out dough on a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out into pieces and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for about 10 days, or freeze for longer lasting treats!

I processed my carrots until they looked like this.

You can put the treats close together on the cookie sheet- they do not spread or rise while baking.

Your dogs will love these healthy treats!

Lilly found a comfy shady spot in the backyard and watched me take pictures of her treats.

While I was out there, I noticed our tomatoes have dwindled. The ones that are left look like this. I wonder if it is because they need more water? Or they are getting too much sun? Or it is the end of their growing season?

Lilly likes these as treats too! She is a good little veggie eater :) She also highly suggests you make these oatmeal carrot goodies for your dogs and dog friends!

Now I'm headed back to the kitchen (where I belong, as my husband likes to joke. I think he's joking...) to make farmer's market quinoa for dinner. We have tons of farmer's market veggies so this a great way to use them up!