Pumpkin (sorry Calvin) Cornbread Muffins

If you're like me, then on your day off you get out of bed at 5:30am (for your sake, I hope you're not like me). After attempting to keep myself entertained by reading for awhile, I needed a new activity. So this morning I am experimenting and making pumpkin cornbread muffins. I'm sure Calvin will be thrilled;). 

 

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

Dry ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cup of cornmeal

1 cup of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

Wet ingredients:

1 egg slightly beaten

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil or butter 

3/4 cup of canned pumpkin 

1/2 cup of honey 

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until just combined. 

 

Scoop the mixture into your paper liners (I use a cookie scoop because it guarantees the muffins are similar in size and it seems to be the easiest and cleanest method). 

 

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

 

Pumpkin Chili

As my husband says, "White people love pumpkin sh*t". And he's totally right. Today I'm using up the rest of our farm share vegetables to make a pumpkin chili in the slow cooker. Pumpkin chili may sound strange, but it's become a yearly staple in our house. The sweetness of the pumpkin is a perfect compliment to lots of spices. I usually make this chili without any meat but Calvin requested turkey.  I also don't normally use any root vegetables, but I wanted to put them to use before they went bad. 

Pumpkin Chili

1 can of Black beans

1 can of Kidney beans

1 cup of Roasted corn

2 Bell peppers

1 Jalapeño (if you want)

1 Onion 

1 small Butternut squash

2 Parsnips

1 can of pumpkin purée 

1 tablespoon of Cinnamon

1 tablespoon of Cumin

1 teaspoon of Cayenne

1 teaspoon of Chili powder 

Cilantro

Lemon or lime juice 

Salt and pepper 

1 cup of water 

Ground turkey 

Brown the turkey in a pan and add to the crock pot. Dice all vegetables. Here's the best part... Put everything in the slow cooker. Cook on low for about 4 hours. Serve with a sprinkle of shredded cheese, a fresh squeeze of citrus juice and some additional chopped cilantro.