Chili, Apple Pie, and Tempeh

I know, I know, I am the worst at keeping up with this thing now-a-days. I have all the intentions on doing a new post but just never seem to get around to it. I barely even bake or cook. I am mainly eating roasted veggies or salads now because I don't have time to be adventurous. I miss that. Being creative and coming up with new recipes. My pintrest board Recipes to Try is over flowing with things I have yet had a chance to make. So sad. But with Turkey day tomorrow and Christmas right around the corner...that means COOKIE TIME!!!!! So can not wait. I was at Stop & Shop on Monday and saw they put out the holiday candy, started to pick out the M&M's and Hersey kisses for my cookies and had to stop myself. Thanksgiving comes first then I will stock up!

So lets get to some recipes:

First up how about some chili. I know I already posted a chili recipe, I think actually two: my first one  and a pumpkin chili. What makes this recipe different is that I used this awesome spice blend. I was at a wine tasting with the bf and some friends and we came across this cute couple that makes chipotle spice blends for cooking. We tried some and I really liked one so we got it. It isn't too spicy but has just enough kick that leaves that warm feeling in the back of your throat. So I made some chili with it. I used my first recipe but added the spice blend along with my other spices.

Here is the spice blend

Check out their site

Now for some apple pie!!

I wanted to go apple picking for my birthday (like I do every year) and I happened to buy way more apples then expected. I had a great sous chef helping me put in the kitchen washing, peeling, and coring apples, while I ran them through the food processor (what a brilliant idea to use that to slice them instead of a knife) and started to make the filling. I also made the pie crust but it had real butter and all that good stuff in it. The filling was just lemon juice, sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon, oh and apples. We did this all during Super Storm Sandy and before the power would go out. I made a lot of pie. Some with crumb topping, some galettes (open, fold over pies).

And some baby apple pies =]

Tempeh time. For those who are asking what it tempeh, it is a meet subsitute for vegetarians made from fermented soybeans and other things like rice, quinoa, millet, etc. I made a yummy tempeh dinner for one the other night.

First I roasted a tomato with my usual seasonings: (they were yellow tomatoes the last from my garden)

Then I melted some cheese over the tempeh and put it over sauteed kale and topped it with the tomatoes:

And before I leave you here is a dinner I made a few weeks ago that was strange but so good:

Roasted asparagus, red peppers, butternut squash, and eggplant with tamari roasted almonds (one of my new favorite things.)

Tomorrow I will post my Turkey Day food!

<3