Fall: Zucchini Muffins + Chili

Crisp Fall Sunday with not much to do = all I want to do is cook and bake!! I know I’m not the only one who gets this feeling as soon as the temps start to dip

To start, I had a zucchini from our garden chilling on the counter for about a week and new I needed to use it!

I took inspiration from a few different recipes and just decided to wing it. I also didn’t have any eggs so I made my first flax egg!

Zucchini Muffins with Streusel Topping

Pre-heat oven to 375

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl:

• 1 1/3 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2/3 cup quick oats
• 1/2 All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• few shakes ground ginger
• 1/4 cup organic sugar

In a separate bowl combine:

• 1 medium zucchini – grated
• 1 flax egg (1T ground flax + 2.5 T water…let sit for 5 min)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 T Maple Syrup
• 3 T canola oil

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until combined, then add chopped walnuts if you want :)

Topping:

• 1.5 T butter
• 1.5 T brown sugar
• 3 T flour
• shakes of cinnamon

Combine streusel ingredients with a pastry cutter til crumbly.

Grease muffin tin with canola oil spray, add batter, top with streusel and bake for 18 min!

Smells deeeeelicous!

These came out great! Brian loved them too…I think next time I’d even add more cinnamon and spices.

Later in the day I made one of my other favorite dishes…perfect for Fall, Football, and leftovers for lunch :)

Chili!

Chili is one of those things that you can just toss in whatever you want, spice it up however you want and it will always be good. I remember a while back seeing this recipe and I was really curious about the addition of red wine and wanted to try it in my batch of chili so I used her recipe as inspiration!

Bean and Beef Chili (based on this recipe from Eat Live Run)

To a large pot or Dutch oven add:

• 1-2T olive oil, then add:
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, any color (I used a red and orange)
• 1 jalapeño
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped…or more if you like!

Sauté for 5 or so minutes until onions are softened up a bit, then add:

• 1 package lean ground beef…I used TJ’s 96% lean beef :)
• Brown it up!

Time to spice it up!

• 2T – 3T chili powder, I used 2T of regular chili powder and a couple tsp’s of chipotle chili powder
• 1.5T cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)

Then add:

• approx. 1/2 can tomato paste (the little cans, you know what I’m talking about)
• stir it up, and then add about 1 cup red wine.
• 2 – 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 2 cans kidney beans, rinsed
• any other beans you’d like :)
• 2 bay leaves

I let mine simmer for about 1.5 hours, then another 1/2 hour uncovered.

This has to be one of my favorite chili’s to date!! I really enjoy the addition of the red wine, and love how it made the chili take on a darker color. Now if only I could figure out how to make it more tangier?? You know? Anyone have any ideas?

We devoured our chili with some Jiffy corn muffins (you guys know I love those things), and topped the chili with sharp cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream….mmm. It’s made some wonderful lunches the past couple days!