Vegetarian Chili

You know you wanna make this... Vegetarian Chili so yummy you'll smack yo mama's ass after eating it! This is what the impromptu family members/guests refused to eat last night (before I even made it no less). Oh well. Snooze, ya lose.

Ingredients:
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
15 oz. 100% pumpkin (pay no attention to the girth of this particular can)
1 onion
3/4 cup bulgur
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic (I used granulated because I didn't have any fresh)
2 tsp. ground cumin
5 1/2 cups water, divided
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 diced zucchini
1 diced bell pepper - whatever color you like
(later you'll see I added 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed)




Put the bulgur into 3 cups of water.



Microwave on high for 15 minutes.



Meanwhile, chop onion and curse Grocery Outlet for subpar onions. Never again.



Heat oil in the pot. While you're waiting, muse about someday getting new pots and pans.



Also, since you have time, take an artsy photo of spices.



The oil is hot now so add the onions to the pot.



Then add the bell pepper.



Aw, it looks so cute in the pot! Cook them for 5 minutes.



After they've cooked for a while, add the spices and cook those for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.



Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot.



Add the tomatoes to the party.



Coax the corn into the pot.



Next, zucchini!!



Following that, add the pumpkin. I measured out the appropriate amount because I only had big cans. I see pumpkin muffins or bread in my near future. Also, yes, I thought pumpkin would be weird in there. The recipe promised you wouldn't taste it. I was skeptical but it's true; you can't taste it! It just adds a nice texture.



Go check on your bulgur. OH CRAP!! Maybe you should do better than me and put it in a larger bowl prior to microwaving it.



I have a feeling that stuff needs more time to soften so although the original recipe advised to put the bulgur in at the end, I'm putting it in now.



Bring the concoction up to a boil then turn down to medium low and let simmer for about 15 minutes or so.



Meanwhile, rinse and drain the black beans.



After 15 minutes, add the black beans to the pot.



Hmmm. This is supposed to be chili, right? Well, there don't seem to be very many beans in that thar chili.



Plus, chili isn't chili without some kidney beans. At least that's my opinion.



So, drain and rinse the kidney beans...



And then add them to the pot.



There. That looks much better. Chili should be full of beans!!



Something is missing. Tabasco!



Now, don't put too much of that Tabasco in since you've got to feed the kids. You can always doctor your own. Oh, hey, we learned an interesting thing in Lynchburg on the Jack Daniel tour. The Tabasco company uses recycled Jack Daniel's whiskey barrels to age the Tabasco! Now you've learned something today!



Bet you wish you could have some of this. It was SO GOOD. Seriously, it defied my expectations! I served it with corn muffins Alex had made for me last night.

Nachos (Last Night) and Fish Tacos (Tonight)

I had to have some nachos last night. It was the best ever. I hadn't had nachos for a while but am so glad I did because, damn, they were so good.



And now, dinner (from tonight)!




Sprinkle some pepper and Ortega Fiesta seasoning on fish. I chose tuna because the Grocery Outlet had some nice looking frozen steaks. You could also use tilapia, cod, halibut, swordfish, etc. etc.





Put some oil in the pan and heat it up nice and hot.





Put the tuna in and let it cook in there for about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes.





Flip it over and cook on the other side for another 3 to 3 1/2 minutes.





Remove it from the pan and put it on a plate.





Wipe the pan clean. Be careful not to burn your itty bitty fingers.





Put the corn tortillas in the clean pan. If you're anything like me you'll be a badass and flip them over with your fingers.





Break up the tuna into manageable pieces. I had my trusty husband do this for me.





I used a mango-peach salsa. Sure, I could have made my own but for just over a buck from the Grocery Outlet, how could I go wrong?





I made some Rice-a-Roni, Mexican flavor rice. I didn't photograph the steps because I'm pretty sure you could figure it out!





Now, assemble your fish tacos: tortilla, fish, salsa, sour cream, and cabbage. YUM! These were so excellent I actually ate three of them.

It has been a while...

...cooking blogs are so hard to keep up. Here's the meal I made tonight:



Taco Soup done in the crockpot. This was a hybridization of about three different recipes.


Ingredients:
Chili beans
Black beans
Corn
Tomato sauce
Chicken broth
Two cans of tomatoes
Green chiles
Onion
Chicken tenders
Taco seasoning
Ranch mix





Start dumping all of the ingredients into the crockpot. I didn't drain anything; I just dumped.

















Now, chop your onion and put that in the crockpot as well.





I buy my taco seasoning and ranch dressing in bulk at Costco so I have to measure out the equivalent of a packet.





Dump that into the crockpot as well.





Measure some ranch dressing. I think a packet usually has about an ounce. Also, it's a little lumpy because I've had it for over a year. No matter; it still tastes fine.





Start laying in the breast tenders on top of the soup mixture.





Lay all of them on top of the soup.





Now poke them down so they get just submersed under the liquid. Don't poke them all the way down. I don't know why you don't but one of the recipes said not to, so I didn't.





Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low all day.





After it has been in the crockpot for about 6 hours, take the chicken out and shred it. I made the teen do this part.





And there you have it! It's perfect! This soup makes a lot which is great because it feeds a family of 5 (including hungry teen who has had 2-3 servings) and there are plenty of leftovers for lunches. Plus, it's easy. I mean, all ya really gotta do is cut up an onion and if you're feeling supremely lazy like I do on occasion you can get your onions pre-chopped in the frozen vegetable section.