I finished watching Friday Night Lights and I swear there’s this emptiness inside me that it’s all over. The last episode was amazing and the writers did such a good job on giving closure to the show. How about giving my heart some closure?! What am I going to do with my evenings now?! Haha, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a better TV show in my life..so much so that I ordered the entire DVD set. Bonus features, anyone?!
So since we’re done with Friday Night Lights, I decided to finally sign up Netflix so we can watch all these TV shows that everyone constantly raves about. I just started Scandal (note: just me. Jason refuses to watch it) and I’m not super into it, but I’m sure as the season progresses, I’ll be hooked. It’s neat it’s based in DC, too, so there are always these snapshots of DC that make me go, “hey! I know where that is!” haha
We tried to start Breaking Bad last night but there’s something wrong with our Netflix and cable provider. I swear they’re throttling our bandwidth or something. Every 10 seconds, the episode will buffer and it’ll stop in the middle of a scene. It happened for the first 10 minutes of the show and we were so frustrated, we turned it off. We couldn’t even get through the first episode! Argh. I hope it was just a fluke or peak hours or something. If not, then we’ll likely have to get rid of Netflix cause I don’t want to watch it on a computer when we can watch it on our big tv.
Any other shows on Netflix you recommend? I heard House of Cards is another great one – any others?
If you haven’t already, now is the time to dust off those crockpots and put them to good use! One of my favorite things about Fall/Winter is how much I use my slow cooker. I don’t know why I don’t use it as often in the summer months since there are plenty of amazing dishes you can make in the crockpot that aren’t soups/chilis, but cooler months always remind me more of my slow cooker!
I’ve had this crockpot turkey pumpkin chili bookmarked for a while. The original recipe from Whole Foods doesn’t require a crockpot but I modified it so you can put it all in the crockpot and let all the ingredients have a party together! This is perfect to whip up for when you have guests coming over to watch football on Sunday or just to have a bunch of leftovers so you don’t have to slave over the stove the entire week :) we brought it for lunch on several occasions and I totally wanted to fall asleep at my desk after having a bowl. It makes you all nice and warm on the inside. Sleep coma-inducing chili is what this really should be called. ;)
Crockpot Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Servings are adjustable but please note that results, timing, and cookware may vary when adjusting servings.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1: 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, with the liquid
- 1: 15 ounce can pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1: 15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, cook the ground turkey halfway through, just enough so you can break it into smaller pieces.
- Then add the turkey and all the other ingredients into the insert of your crockpot. Stir or whisk everything together until the pumpkin puree has been dissolved or broken up.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
- Serve warm and top with whatever toppings you like (cheese, sour cream, green onions, etc.)
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Adapted from Whole Foods
Caitlin
Thursday 5th of March 2015
Also, if you leave out the water, do you think it will be thicker? Thank you!
Julie
Thursday 5th of March 2015
Yes, it will be thicker if you leave out the water.
Caitlin
Thursday 5th of March 2015
Love pumpkin and turkey! How many servings would you estimate this makes?
Julie
Thursday 5th of March 2015
About 4-6 servings, depending on bowl size.
Fiona
Sunday 26th of October 2014
All I have is leftover pumpkin pie mix from making a dip. Do you think it will ruin the recipe if I use it rather than puree?
Julie
Sunday 26th of October 2014
Hi, Fiona..no, I mentioned you can't use that. Pumpkin pie mix/filling has added spices and sweetness that is supposed to be used in pies alone. Definitely don't use it in this savory dish. You need to use puree.
Meghan
Monday 20th of October 2014
For anyone that has made this, does this get thick in the crock pot? I made chili a few weeks ago and wasn't thrilled with the thickness. It was kind of watered down. I am thinking the pumpkin would thicken it up a bit.
Julie
Monday 20th of October 2014
This one is not as thick as most chili's. If you want thick chili, try this one: https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/crockpot-chili-cornbread/
Jaclyn
Saturday 26th of October 2013
What a perfect fall soup! This looks delicious!