Creative Seasonal Dish: Turkey and Pumpkin Chili

Whether you've got Thanksgiving leftovers or you're just hankering for the flavors of the season, this creative chili recipe is just what the doctor ordered. A perfect blend of turkey and pumpkin along with a few other traditional chili ingredients (black beans, diced tomatoes, onion & pepper), it's the perfect way to spice up an ordinary dish. 

Best of all, you can indulge in this protein-rich chili without overstuffing on calories. Keep reading for this amazing recipe...

Turkey and Pumpkin Chili Recipe

(makes 10 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped (red or yellow would be ideal)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cubed avocado and thinly sliced green onions, optional for garnish 

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers to the skillet, cooking and stirring them until soft. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
2. Transfer to a five-quart slow cooker and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on low for four to five hours. If you’d like, top your bowl of chili with freshly cubed avocado and sliced green onions. 
3. Enjoy!

Seasonal Recipe: Whole Pumpkin Soup

As any good cook knows, pumpkins are great for more than jack-o-lanterns.

These festive gourds make delicious treats, and bonus: they transform into soup bowls. That's the inspiration for this wonderful whole pumpkin soup recipe. It's a unique way to set the table and serve a meal. To use even more of the pumpkin than the base recipe requires, toast the seeds after and use them to top the soup. Chunks of bread make for another good topping for a different texture. Keep reading below for this wonderful recipe...

Whole Pumpkin Soup

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 whole pie pumpkins (Use two more for serving in if desired)
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 whole black peppercorns
• a dash of nutmeg
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cut the tops off the two pumpkins, then cut them into halves.
3. Use a spoon to remove the seeds and the pulp of the pumpkins, then cut into quarters and place on a baking sheet
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender
5. Peel away the skin from the pumpkin flesh, then put the flesh into a pot.
6. Pour in the vegetable stock and maple syrup. Cook until simmering.
7. Mash the big chunks, then transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Add cream, garlic, peppercorn, salt and nutmeg. Blend again.
8. Serve in a bowl or hollowed out pumpkin. Top with additional heavy cream, bread chunks, or toasted pumpkin seeds as desired.
9. Enjoy!

Italian Recipe: Perfect Pumpkin Ravioli

There are so many great ways to cook pumpkin, from baking it in a pie, to toasting up some seeds, or to turning it into a soup or puree. One of our favorite meals involves loading ravioli with fresh pumpkin. 

The stuffed pasta, ravioli, has its roots all the way back to 14th century Venice. It was originally stuffed with a mixture of herbs, egg, and cheese, and that basic recipe has stuck around to modern days. But somewhere along the way, pumpkin became a popular filling in northern Italy, particularly in and around the region of Emilia-Romagna in the north. They're still eaten year-round, made fresh in bakeries, and celebrated as a key component of local culinary history.

Now you can make these legendary ravioli right at home. This recipe offers up a spectacular combo of sweet and savory, mixing together pumpkin puree with shallots, herbs, and some heavy cream. 

Perfect Pumpkin Ravioli

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients

PASTA

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

FILLING

• 1 small pie pumpkin (about 2 1/2lbs) peeled, hollowed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 5 teaspoons chopped shallot
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 egg beaten

SAUCE

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

Directions

1. Place the flour in a large bowl, then make a well in the center.
2. Beat together 5 eggs and oil, then pour into the well in the flour. Stir together, forming a ball.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface, then knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking.
4. Cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. In a large skillet, saute pumpkin and shallot in butter until tender.
6. Transfer to a food processor, then add sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover and process until blended.
7. Return the mixture to the pan, stir in the cream and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
8. Reduce heat, and summer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Discard the bay leaf.
9. Divide the pasta dough into fourths. Roll one portion to 1/16" thickness. Quickly place rounded spoonfulls of filling 1" apart over half of the sheet of pasta.
10. Brush around the filling with the beaten egg. Fold the sheet of pasta in half, and press down to seal. Cut into squares wit ha pastry wheel.
11. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
12. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until ravioli floats. Drain.
13. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Let cook uncovered until reduced by half. Stir in butter and sage. Serve over Ravioli. Optionally, also add grated Parmesan cheese.
14. Enjoy!

Seasonal Recipe: Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

One dessert that just screams "Autumn" is the classic pumpkin pie. This velvety pie loaded with our favorite spices and pairs well with so many of our favorite seasonal dishes. Thanks to canning, a delicious, warm pumpkin pie is never far away, however there's just something missing when we get pureed pumpkin from a can. Not only is it more satisfying to roast your own pumpkin, but it's more delicious in the end as well.

For today's recipe, we're leaving those cans in the store and using fresh pumpkin to fill our pies. All you have to do is roast the pumpkins similar to what is called for in our Whole Pumpkin Soup. Take a sugar pumpkin, cut off the stem, then cut in half and scoop out the goopy bits and seeds.  Cut into quarters, roast for 45 minutes at 350F, then peel away the skin. Scroll below for our full recipe...

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Ingredients

FILLING

• 2 cups pumpkin pul puree (instructions above)
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk.
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

CRUST

• 1 1/2 cups flour (reserve extra for dusting work surface)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 8 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Start wit hthe crust. Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves in a medium bowl.
3. Add butter, and mix in until it's combined into about pea-sized pieces.
4. Add 4 tablespoons ice water to the mix and combine just until the dough combes together.
5. Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, work on the filling. Mix sugars, salt, spices, and lemon zest into a large bowl.
7. Beat the eggs and add to the mix.
8. Stir in the pumpkin puree.
9. Stir in the cream.
10. Whisk together until incorporated.
11. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into a round about 12" in diameter and 1/4" thick.
12. Roll the dough out into a  9" pie plate and fold the excess at the edges under itself. Crimp the edges to seal.
13. Pour the filling into the pie shell and make sure it's even.
14. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350F. Bake for another 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
15. Cool on a wire rack for two hours.
16. Serve with whipped cream.
17. Enjoy!

Delicious Bread Recipe: Ginger Pecan Pumpkin-Spice Loaf

Who’s ready for fall? When the days get cooler and the leaves start to turn, it’s nice to have some culinary options to embrace the changing weather. This recipe is perfect for those days! As a general note: this pumpkin loaf is equally as good without any pecans or when using only cinnamon and nutmeg, so if that’s all that’s in the pantry, it’s fine—your house will still smell amazing!

Ginger Pecan Pumpkin Loaf

Ingredients

(Makes two, 9x5 loaves)

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 2/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter two, 9x5in loaf pans

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda,  and all spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) together.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin purée, pecans, melted butter, sugars, molasses, eggs and water together until blended.

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

5. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes and run knife along edge of pan to loosen loaf.

Autumnal Pasta Recipe: Homemade Brown Butter & Sage Pumpkin Gnocchi

This recipe is for all the gnocchi lovers out there! For those who haven’t tried gnocchi yet, it’s essentially a potato dumpling that is treated as a type of pasta, accompanied by a variety of sauces and copious amounts of cheese. Trust us, you can never go wrong with copious amounts of cheese!

Gnocchi may seem like a complicated and time-consuming meal to make, but it’s actually not that difficult; it does take a little time, but since you’ll be rewarded with sweet pumpkin dumplings, we think it’s well worth the time!

Pumpkin Sage Gnocchi

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and boiled until tender
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2-2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated; plus more for garnish
• 2 tablespoons sage leaves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• water, for boiling

Directions 

1. Take peeled and boiled potatoes and put them through a ricer to purée them. Place in a bowl and set aside until completely cool.
2. Combine pureed potatoes with pumpkin, egg, cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and pepper, and mix well. Bit by bit, add in flour until you’ve formed a sticky dough.
3. Divide dough up into 4-6 balls and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll each section into a long, 1/2-inch thick rope. Begin cutting ropes into 1/2-inch pieces. Dust pieces with flour so they don’t stick together and press the tines of a fork into the pieces to give gnocchi the traditional indentation.
4. Once you’ve finished forming your gnocchi, cook them in salted, boiling water for 2-4 minutes. Once they start floating, they’re finished. Extract gnocchi from water using a slotted spoon.
5. Place a large pan over high heat. Once hot, add in butter and wait for it to caramelize around the edges. Once it begins to brown (2-4 minutes), swirl the butter around and add in minced sage, salt and pepper. Cook for 20-30 seconds.
6. Then toss in your cooked gnocchi and coat thoroughly with browned butter and sage. Adjust seasoning if needed and garnish with more Parmesan. Serve hot.

Perfectly Simple Fall Dessert: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

You may have noticed this already, but we have no shame in sharing our love for pumpkin treats around here—we hope you don’t mind... These pumpkin muffins are the perfect snack to whip up because they are so easy and so yummy! If you’re a wizard with a mixer, they’re ready in close to half an hour and after the first batch you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t want seconds. For those of you out there who share our appreciation of anything pumpkin- (or chocolate-) related, you have to try these!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Yields approx. 2 dozen, large muffins)

Ingredients 

3 cups app-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F and line your muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a bowl, sift your flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat your eggs and sugar together. Mix in pumpkin puree and canola oil.
4. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Mix well and fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill your muffin tins with about 1/4 cup of batter, or until 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are springy to the touch and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes, then remove muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Seasonally Delicious Dinner: Creamy Pumpkin Risotto

Risotto is a dish that can sometimes be intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, you see that it’s actually very simple! It’s a dish that has virtually no limitations, in terms of what can go in it, and we’ve found that pumpkin is a lovely choice if you want some creamy, (not too) sweet flavor. It does take attention, since you have to be at the stove, stirring, but we think it’s absolutely worth the effort!

Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients 

• 6-8 cups vegetable stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 1 1/3 cup solid-pack canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup dry, white wine
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 2 white onions, medium, finely chopped
• 2 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Directions

1. Heat vegetable stock/chicken broth in a saucepan and keep on low until needed.
2. Heat oil in a pan and begin sautéing onions and garlic, until onions are softened.
3. In a separate, deep pan, melt butter on medium heat and add Arborio rice. Cook until the rice is just toasted. It’s important to toast the rice so that it gains flavor and opens up more to absorb liquid.
4. Add nutmeg, onions and garlic. Mix together. Then add white wine and cook, stirring until the rice has absorbed majority of it.
5. Pour in three cups of stock, one cup at a time, waiting until liquid is almost completely absorbed before adding the next cup. Stir continuously.
6. After three cups, add in the pumpkin. Then continue with the rest of the stock. Always waiting until the rice has absorbed the liquid before adding the next batch.
7. Once you’ve finished with the last cup—rice should be tender, but still have some bite, based on your preference—stir in the cheese and finish with salt and pepper, to taste.
8. Allow to rest and thicken for a few minutes, then serve warm. 

Autumnal Appetizer Recipe: Cheesy Pumpkin Dip

We love taking advantage of various seasonal ingredients and pumpkin is definitely one of our favorites! This cheesy pumpkin dip is a tasty snack that is perfect for entertaining or hanging out with the family on game night; it’s like the cool, older sibling to your run-of-the-mill cheese and crackers! You can make it on the stove or in a food processor (we prefer melting it down so it’s gooey and delicious), and with it you’ll never be at a loss for what to serve when you need a quick and fun dip recipe! 

Cheesy Pumpkin Dip

Yields 1-1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt and pepper, as needed
• crackers, for serving
• dried red pepper, minced, optional

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt and blend together your cream cheese and cheddar cheese.
2. Stir in pumpkin puree and mix well. Add in cinnamon, salt and pepper.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
4. Pour into heatproof serving bowl and garnish with peppers. Serve with crackers and enjoy.