Pumpkin Chili & Parmesan Biscuits

I love it when people send me recipes to try. Love it! Just the other day, Jenna sent me a Whole Foods recipe for a decidedly fall dish: pumpkin chili. Before you recoil and run away, let me assure you that it's not weird. I did find the original recipe a tiny bit bland, even with my lack of shyness around salt, so I baked up some parmesan biscuits to crumble into the bowl (WF suggests topping it with sour cream, which would probably also do the trick).

Delicious and Nutritious.

In other news, I have acquired a sufficient level of employment here in DC to allow me to look for an apartment. Exciting! I'm looking at a place this afternoon and hope to have my real life up and running early in the new year. When that happens, there will be the dinner party to end all dinner parties. Well that's an exaggeration, but I will definitely have people over and feed them. I'm slowly but surely getting back into some form of reality instead of my own, personal bubble of stopped time.

It's about time.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped (or a few spoonfuls of jarred jalepeño bits. I used subsantially more than this calls for)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (do not use fresh pumpkin, not as good)
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water (you may need to adjust this, just add more water if it starts to dry out)
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes.

2) Add turkey and cook until browned.

3) Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes more.

Ladle chili into bowls, crumble a biscuit in and serve.

Parmesan Biscuits

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk (If you do not have buttermilk, go here, or you can get a powdered version)
2 tablespoons finely shredded or grated parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a bowl.

3) Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or just use two knives, which is what I do) until mixture resembles coarse meal.

4) Stir in 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese and add buttermilk, stirring just until moist.

5) Spoon dough evenly into 8-12 mounds on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

6) Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.