Tasty Bites: Three-Bean Beef and Sausage Chili with Pumpkin

By Beth V

Chili is one of my favorite dishes to serve for company in the fall. It can be made at least a day ahead, and it is warm and satisfying for even the heartiest appetites. You can also easily adjust chili according to your mood. White Chicken Chili, Beef Chili, Sausage Chili, mild, spicy, full of beans, no beans, it can be almost endlessly customized without really messing it up. One day, I wanted to make chili and I gathered all I had on hand to just throw it together, including some leftover pumpkin puree from another recipe. Well, I discovered that we really love our pumpkin chili! Whenever I have made a random chili recipe or a quick throw-together since, my husband taste-tests it and says that he thinks we need to add some pumpkin. Pumpkin adds an earthiness and a slight sweetness that blends right in and really ties the flavors together. If you’ve never tried adding pumpkin to your chili, you don’t know what you’re missing! And the subtle flavor and color blends so well into the chili that no one would ever know it is in there.

Pumpkin also adds more nutrition to what can already be a pretty healthy meal. If your chili is full of beans and veggies along with the meat and tomatoes, it is already a great source of protein, fiber, and antioxidants. Even the chili peppers that make your chili spicy have tremendous health benefits.  Pumpkin adds even more fiber and vitamin A. I love that pumpkin is packed with nutrition because it is such a fun seasonal ingredient, but I like it even more for the subtle way it makes my chili recipes taste better.

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Tasty Bites: Lentil Soup with Sausage

By Beth V

It's getting to be that time of year again... soup season. The cool morning temperatures are starting to hint that fall is really coming. It may still get up to the mid to upper-eighties here in the South during the heat of the day, but it doesn't keep this mid-Atlantic girl from treasuring the cool mornings and evenings and dreaming of days where the highs are about 65. It can always feel like fall in an air-conditioned house, right?  Believe me, a high of 85 feels like fall compared to the 105 highs at the height of summer. Anyway, the cooling trend and shortening daylight hours are sending me into the kitchen to cook things like soup, pot roast, caramel apple dip, butter pecan muffins with pumpkin cream cheese frosting, you get the idea.

Today, I want to share with you a delicious Lentil Soup with Sausage recipe that I found in the Autumn 2011 edition of The Baking Sheet, a cooking magazine published by King Arthur Flour. A friend gifted me with a subscription and I have really been enjoying the delicious recipes and beautiful photographs.

Along with a renewed desire for fall foods, I have made a renewed effort to make our dinners at home higher in fiber, and lower in fat and calories. This soup fits the bill perfectly. Unlike other types of beans, lentils do not have to soak overnight or cook for hours and hours. They are relatively quick-cooking and they have a ton of health benefits. They are full of fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and balance blood sugar. Lentils are also an excellent source of B-vitamins, protein, folate and magnesium. The insoluble fiber helps keep the digestive tract clean and helps prevent digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome. The fiber, along with folate and magnesium also play a role in promoting heart-health. Click here for even more detailed information about the health benefits of lentils.

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Tasty Bites: Split Pea Soup With Ham

By Beth V

I promised a recipe to use leftover Christmas ham and here it is. Some of you may be thinking, “Yuck, I really do not like peas, so why would I like split pea soup?“  Well, I don’t like peas either, but I love split pea soup. Split peas are high in fiber, protein, B-vitamins and many minerals. This is a simple and satisfying soup that comes together quickly and does not require any soaking. And, it tastes really good, I promise.

Heat one tablespoon of oil over medium heat and add a chopped onion, four chopped carrots, three chopped celery stalks and a tablespoon of dried thyme. Sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon salt and some a few shakes of pepper over the vegetables. Cook this for a few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

As a side note, here is a great tip for preserving celery. When you get it home from the grocery store, wrap it in foil, covering it completely, and then put it in the refrigerator. The foil allows just enough moisture and air exchange to keep it really fresh and crisp for a very long time. It extends the life of the celery up to a few weeks.  Try it, it’s pretty amazing. After you use what you need for a recipe, just make sure it is wrapped well in the foil and return it to the refrigerator.

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Tasty Bites: Creamy Bean and Ham Soup

By Beth V

Soup is one of my favorite meals to prepare this time of year. There is something lovely  and comforting about a bubbling pot of soup on the stove on chilly, autumn days. This soup harkens back to my childhood when my mom would often turn a leftover ham bone and some beans into something delicious. I did not use a ham bone (although you are welcome to!), but it is amazing how such  simple ingredients can create such amazing flavor.

Start with a pound of dry beans. I like pinto, but navy beans or great northern beans would work well, too. Rinse the beans and quickly look them over for any debris. Place them in a large pan and add enough water to cover the beans by about two inches. Cover with a lid and allow these to soak for 6 to 8 hours. Most people find it easiest to let them soak overnight, but you could easily start them early in the morning and they would be ready to cook before dinner time. This step takes no active cooking time, but it does require enough forethought to start the soaking process.

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Tasty Bites: Bonnie's Santa Fe Soup

By Beth V

Today’s sky was grey and there was a nip in the air… a great day for soup. This recipe came from my sister, Bonnie, and it is so delicious and easy to throw together at the spur of the moment. It is one of those meals made almost exclusively from pantry ingredients. This recipe catches on like wildfire…everyone who tastes it wants the recipe. It really could not be easier to prepare.

Brown two pounds of ground beef or turkey together with a large onion that has been chopped. Here is a great video that demonstrates the onion-chopping technique that I use. It is really easy and quick once you get the hang of it. It is almost easier than using a chopper or food processor.

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