Sunday Funday!! Welcome back NFL!

SOOOO happy this day has finally come! The NFL is back on the tube and it's like all is right with the world!  Woke up this morning went to mass, the grocery store, and came back and started cooking up a storm!  Love these kinds of Sundays!

For the coaches meeting this week I decided to go with my Chili and a Pumpkin Crunch Cake.  Chili is a very person thing I think.  Everyone has their own way of making it and their own secret ingredients that they use.  I've heard of people using different combinations of meat like pork, lamb, and even venison.  I myself have made a Chili with bear meat before.  I've heard of people using dark beer or whiskey, specially grown hot peppers, and even secret spices.  When Coach and I moved in with each other I quickly learned that he was a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  And, that meat had to be Red Meat.  I explained that except for the occasional hamburger that I craved - I really didn't do red meat.  I told him I would be happy to make chili using turkey meat.  Coach told me in so many words that he wouldn't be eating anything made out of ground turkey meant and he wasn't sure he would even let me in the house with it.  Fine...no worries.  I went out to get the stuff I needed when he was at his own coaching meeting and had the pot of Chili cooked and simmering when he got back for the 4pm Pats game....After about 4 bowls of Chili, I asked him if he like it?  He proclaimed that he LOVED the chili and couldn't wait to have it again.  You should have seen his face when I told him that that Chili he loved so much was made out of turkey meat!!!!  Hahaha...

We use a lot of turkey meat in our house.  The Babes likes it and it really is a healthier option then red meat.  I use it in meatloaves, burritos and tacos, burgers, and even Shepard's Pie.

Turkey Chili

What you Need:

1 pound Turkey Meat (I use the 93/7 blend)
2 cans Red Kidney Beans
2 cans Black Beans
Chili seasoning (I make my own, but you could use the kind you find in the packet too!)
3 cans Diced Tomatoes
1 Red Onion sliced.
pretty simple...

Here's what you do:

This is a one pot chili and it's pretty simple.  I put a large pot on my range and put the burner on high.  Then, slice up your red onion and put it in the hot pot.  On top of the onions, put your meat.  I use a wooden spoon to break up the meat and stir those yummy onions into the meat.  Now you add your chili seasoning.  Let your meat, onions, and seasoning cook together for about 10 minutes.  At this point, I also add a little splash of water to the pot to help the seasonings really get incorporated into the meat.  Once the mixture is cooked well...it's time for the beans.  I do drain and rinse the beans but when I open the cans I add a little bit of both the red and black bean 'juice' to the pot.  I throw the beans in the strainer and give them a good rinse and add them to the chili pool!!  The last goods to go in are the diced tomatoes.  I do not drain the tomatoes because I want all of that juice to eventually become a thick chili sauce!  I let my chili cook for a couple of hours and stir it whenever I go back into the kitchen to get a beverage.  I serve the chili with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and tortilla chips of some variety.  Coach likes his chili with saltines...different strokes for different folks I guess.  I will mention that when I am making chili for a crowd of people that like heat...I can really kick it up a notch!  I use Sriracha - a really spicy and lovely Asian hot sauce. If the crowd isn't into the heat I just use my chili seasoning - which is pretty mild and set a couple different types of hot sauce out.

The final product!

For dessert I whipped up one of my favorite fall treats Pumpkin Crunch Cake.  I originally got the recipe from Pintrest but I've made a few modifications to it and now, I think it's really good.  

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Here's what you need:

soooo good!

1 box Yellow Cake mix

1 can pumpkin

1 can evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 and 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 cup butter soften

cinnamon

cloves

allspice

ginger

anything else for Fall spices that you like

Chopped pecans - optional

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven 350 degrees and grease a 9x11 pan...I used my Pyrex (obvi).  In a bowl mix together the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and spices.  Make sure that all ingredients are mixed well!  Pour the mixture into the greased pan.  Next, get your KitchenAid mixer out and plug that baby in...put your cake mix in the bowl and add the 2 soften sticks of butter.  Mix your butter and cake mix until you get a dough.  Depending on how soft your butter is - your dough will either be thick like dough or more like batter...truly it doesn't matter.  Once the butter and cake mix are well incorporated drop dollops of the dough onto the pumpkin mixture.  Before you put that yummy cake in the oven, if you want to add the pecans, now would be the time!  Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.  

This is a crowd pleaser...if you make this, you will be asked to make it often!

Ok, I have to go and partake in my least favorite Sunday chore...folding laundry...ewww!  I hope you try out these recipes and enjoy...let me know what you think!  Come back this week for some more insights on the life of high school football coach...also, more recipes and maybe even an easy craft or two!

Thanks for checking in and checking me out!