Halloween Trunk or Treat and Chili Cook Off

Tonight was our ward's Halloween Trunk or Treat and Chili cook-off. I signed up to bring chili. I have never made anything for a cook-off before, so this was new for me. And, guess what? I won 3rd place!The above picture is my prize. I am so excited! Seriously, I didn't think I would be so proud of myself. It feels good.

So, I didn't make either of the recipes I was thinking about. I went with a recipe for Pumpkin Black Bean Chili. I tweaked it a bit, and was pretty pleased with the results. I may fiddle around with it in the future to make it even better. Here is the recipe.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili

1 medium-large yellow onion, chopped
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. oil
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
3 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb. ground turkey, browned
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
4 cups (2 cans) chicken broth
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1-2 tsp. salt (to taste)

1. Saute onions, yellow pepper and garlic in oil for 8 minutes, or until soft.
2. Stir in oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours, or high for 3 1/2-4 hours)

It was the missionaries who were judging, if that means anything. And there were 10 entries, so again I'm pretty pleased that I won 3rd place!



As for the kids and their costumes, Logan was a ghost and Avery was a little fairy.My friend Vicki had a ghost costume that her son wore when he was 3 that she let us borrow. My cousin sent a little skirt and wand for Avery, and I bought her some wings at Michael's. I made her flower headband this afternoon. I am glad I didn't have to spend too much on the kids Halloween costumes this year. Maybe one of these years I will get back in the Halloween spirit for myself, and get Tony and I some good costumes. I used to get into Halloween a lot more. I had fun.