Pumpkin Sausage Chili

What happens in the middle of fall when my pumpkin obsession meets my chili obsession?  Pumpkin Sausage Chili!! Sweet....and savory, and fall all the way through.  This chili is delicious!  I made mine on the stove because I was short on time, but I'm sure it would be equally as delicious in the crockpot!  A big batch before trick-or-treating? Yes please!

Pumpkin Sausage Chili

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Diced Onion

1/2 Cup Chopped Red Pepper

1 Garlic Clove, Minced

1lb Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Can Tomato Sauce

2 Cups Pumpkin Puree 

1 T Chili Powder

1 t Cumin

Directions:
In a pot (to avoid doing extra dishes!), sauté onion, red pepper, and garlic.
Push to the side and brown the sausage.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, chili powder, and cumin.
Stir and simmer for 20 minutes (or as long as you can stand to wait!)
Top with cheese and plain greek yogurt.

Birthday Trip To Birmingham, Alabama

It’s pretty unbelievable that this is the 9th time I get to celebrate with Rob on his birthday. I can remember that first birthday so well…we had only hung out a handful of times and it fell three days after Rob took me to homecoming at his high school. It was awkward timing because we were not dating yet but we had a great time at the dance. I definitely wasn’t going to buy him a gift but I also felt uncomfortable not doing anything. What if he thought I was weird?! Or mean?! Oh the dilemma! I remember asking my mom and she, of course, said “You HAVE TO do something!” We decided on getting him a cookie cake. “Not too much but just enough” we reasoned. I didn’t have my license so my mom drove me to Giant in the morning to get the cookie cake and then drove me over to his high school to drop it off in the front office as a surprise. I remember being so nervous and embarrassed and wondering if I was making a fool of myself. I think we all know how this worked out….he asked me to be his girlfriend a week later, his wife four years later, and now I’m lucky enough to spoil this guy every birthday for the rest of his life! When in doubt, go with a cookie cake ;)


This weekend was Rob's 26th birthday so we headed to Birmingham, Alabama to celebrate.  We woke up early Saturday morning and drove to Birmingham.  (It's only a little over two hours from Meridian) and went straight to Ruffner Mountain to go hiking.  Temperatures are still in the 80s in Mississippi so I was determined to see some fall foliage in the mountains!  The hike was gorgeous and the temperatures were cool enough to get our first glimpse of fall.



Hiking worked up an appetite so we headed Saw's Soul Kitchen for BBQ sandwiches, onion rings, and sweet tea.  It was lined out the door but the service was fast and efficient and the food was totally worth it.  I am dying to go back and try the Sweet Tea Fried Chicken!  After lunch, we popped next door to the Avondale Brewery.  There was actually a "pumpkin chunkin" event going on so Rob tried his hand at it.  Let's just say it is harder than it looks!

I booked our room at the Ross Bridge Resort so we headed back to the hotel to hang out by the pool.  The resort is gorgeous and totally resembled Hogwarts!  The pool is beautiful and although it is almost November, the sun was hot and the water was warm enough to swim.  We both fell asleep poolside for a much needed nap!


After napping by the pool and getting ready for dinner, we took a quick detour to check out the light tunnel on 18th Street.  We had margaritas and mexican for dinner at Little Donkey and then walked next door to grab dessert at Steel City Pops.  We read everywhere that this was a "must try" place but usually popsicles do not satisfy my sweet tooth.  I've been proved wrong!  I had the Sweet Potato Pecan and Rob tried the Maple Bacon Bourbon and both were rich, creamy, and indulgent!

We woke up the next day, excited to celebrate Rob's actual birthday with pitchers of mimosa at brunch.  Unfortunately, we didn't know about the crazy Birmingham laws banning alcohol until church gets out at noon...LAME!  I headed back to the pool to relax while Rob had a 1:30 tee time at the Ross Bridge golf course.  I don't know much about golf (but Rob loves it!) but he said the course is "up there with the Greenbrier for his favorite course ever" and that it was "very long, challenging, and beautiful".  Before heading home, I had to hit all of the places we miss while living in Meridian:  Forever 21, Target, and Chipotle!  We went home tired, full, and content!

Simple and Healthy Butternut Squash Bowl

I usually stick to a basic sandwich for lunch but sometimes I crave something fancier.  This week, even though it is still in the 80s here, I am in total fall mode.  Fall flavors, fall scents, fall activities....I'm obsessed.  I wanted something special for lunch that was filled with fall flavors and colors but still healthy.  This butternut squash bowl did the trick!  The best part?  I made a big batch on Sunday and portioned it out for the week so lunchtime prep is minimal!

The directions are pretty loose because you can't really mess this up.  Just add as much of each as desired.

Butternut Squash Bowl

Ingredients:

Butternut squash, roasted

Kale, sautéed

Quinoa

Dried Cranberries

Italian Sausage, cut into coins

Directions:
Roast your butternut squash, cook your quinoa, sauté your kale, and cook your sausage.  Mix everything together.  Top with cranberries and feta cheese.

Since I am following the 21 Day Fix, I used the containers to measure my portions.  I used 1 green for squash and kale, 1/2 yellow for quinoa, 1 red for sausage, and 1/2 purple for cranberries.

What are your favorite fall flavors?

Linking up with WIAW

Saturdays Down South

Does it ever get better than long weekends spent at a slow pace?  I feel like we finally had a chance this weekend to slow down and catch our breath.  Instead of running around and traveling, we spent a weekend at home, making plans as we went along.  The change of pace was just what we needed.

Rob was off on Friday for Columbus Day weekend so of course I took the day off too.  We slept in, worked out, grabbed lunch at The Daily Grind, and walked around Bonita Lakes.

We woke up on Saturday and decided it was the day to go to skeet shooting.  I have been wanting to learn to shot a shotgun for a while now (Hey, a girl's got to be prepared for anything!) and heard there was a beautiful range in Meridian.  We drove out to Binachi Shooting Sports to try our hand at it.  Even though I've shot guns before, I am always a bundle of nerves when it comes to shooting a new gun.  Luckily, we came on the perfect day.

David is the owner of Binachi Shooting Sports and he is awesome!  We were the only people (besides a boy scout camp) there so David was more than happy to explain everything to us.  He came out to the range with us and gave us pointers and really helped me with my form.   The first time I shot the gun, I cried just from sheer nerves about the kickback (not so proud moment!) but my third shot, I hit the clay straight on and it exploded in midair (proud moment!)  After we shot through a box of ammo, David asked us if we wanted to ride around and see a tour of the property and shoot some clays back in the woods.  The 400 acre property is gorgeous, and much cooler back in the shaded woods.  Rob really started getting the hang of shooting the shotgun, but old habits die hard and he still has to close one eye like he is shooting a rifle.  Either way, we had an awesome day shooting.  We grabbed burgers at Mugshots before heading home for a long nap.  Rob got scheduled for duty Saturday night so he went to work and I snuggled in with some wine and Netflix ;)

We finally had brunch on Sunday at Weidmann's.  If you look up Meridian on Pinterest or google, Weidmann's is the one restaurant that everyone recommends.  (Maybe the only restaurant but that's another story!)  Weidmann's is gorgeous, with it's exposed brick walls and hard wood floors, and it is full of tradition.  Minus a small hiccup in 2010, it has been open since 1870!  Instead of getting bread and butter before your meal, you are brought out a crock of peanut butter and crackers, a tradition dating back to butter shortages during WWII.  After stuffed french toast and a round of ramos gin fizzes, we headed to the grocery store and then home to watch some football.

Friday Favorites

// I never turn down free activities so I dragged my friend Cara to the new restaurant opening at the golf course on base this week.  They were having a food tasting of their new menu so we had to check it out.  I surprised myself and actually loved the veggie sandwich!

// Last fall, I burned my way through the Apple Pumpkin Yankee candle and was completely obsessed with it. But those Yankee candles are so stinkin' expensive! Good news is the Farm Apple Pumpkin candle at Wal-Mart is 1/6 the price and honestly smells exactly the same, if not better. Seriously, at $3.97, those Better Homes and Garden candles cannot be beat!!

// We had this honey sriracha pizza for dinner last night and it was OMG good! (I used 2 tablespoons of sriracha instead of 4 and it was PLENTY of heat.  Just FYI!)  Starting another round of the 21 Day Fix on Monday so we had to squeeze in this guilty pleasure before then!

// This article made me cry.  No shock there but it was a nice reminder to watch how you "see" people.

// My new favorite of all time flavor kombucha.  I need to try blood orange next time we are at Whole Foods!

// No matter which side you fall on, I think we can all agree that Brittany's situation is heartbreaking and a reminder of how precious this life really is.  This has made for some really deep conversations in our house this week.  (two good reads here and here)

Rob started ground school again this week after a nice month long transition period.   I love that we live close enough that he can pop home for lunch though!  He has a long holiday weekend so I'm planning for a good mix of relaxation and fall activities (it's still in the 80's+ here but we can pretend, right?!)  Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

On Wednesdays, we drink wine!

I knew I was going to be just fine in Meridian when I realized the wives have a Facebook page completely dedicated to "Wine Wednesday".  Not only is there an organized Wine Wednesday, but they have one every single week!  I have always heard that small towns end up being some of the best places to be stationed because it's a tight-knit community on base and I'm realizing this is tru.


The way Wine Wednesday works here in someone volunteers to host each week.  No rules about who, where, or how often, you can just pick a Wednesday that works for you and host.  The host provides snacks, everyone brings wine, and it's a low key way to get together and hang out.  One of the best parts about living on base is being able to walk down the street to Wine Wednesday when the host also lives on base!



I decided to go with a fall theme for my Wine Wednesday.  I made pumpkin cookies (I used to beg my mom to make these every fall!), a cheese ball with sweet potato chips, maple bacon cupcakes, and spiked caramel apple cider.   The cheese ball was such a hit, and everyone kept saying it was too cute to cut.  If you are looking for a cute and easy fall appetizer, this is it.  (Recipe taken from my mom)  Shred a block of Cracker Barrel sharp white cheddar cheese and mix it with a block of cream cheese, a couple shakes of garlic powder, and a shake of red pepper flakes and mix until smooth.  Put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Roll into a ball and roll in paprika until fully covered.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Stick a cinnamon stick and a bay leave in the top and take out 10 minutes before serving.


We had a great turn out and Rob (who was studying in the back room office) said all he could hear all night was constant giggling. Typical! We even brought out the apple pie moonshine for tasting...but clearly we need to just stick to wine...and maybe take pictures before everything gets a little blurry ;)

San Antonio

Have you ever been sure you would love a place, without actually ever visiting?  That's how I have been about Texas.  I'm obsessed...completely and totally convinced that I could move there and love it.  And this weekend I finally had the chance to visit for the first time...and I was right!  I would totally move to Texas!

A couple weeks ago, we found out Rob was scheduled to go to the centrifuge in San Antonio.  Rob knows how much I've been wanting to go to Texas so he asked if I wanted to book a ticket and tag along.  Of course I was ecstatic and counting down the days! The military paid for Rob's flight and hotel and everything so I just book a plane ticket on the same flight.  At the last minute, Rob's flight plans got changed and we ended up flying to San Antonio on separate airlines, a couple of hours apart. 

We got to San Antonio on Thursday and headed straight to the Alamo.  It was awesome to see in person and not too crowded at all.  From there, we explored the Riverwalk, grabbing margaritas at Cafe Ole and Mexican food at Casa Rio.  I swear I almost needed carried back to the hotel, I was so full!

Friday morning, Rob had to wake up early to go to the centrifuge (the whole reason we were there!). The centrifuge is a spin machine that stimulates g forces on the body.  (The easiest explanation I've heard is we are always at 1g and 2gs means your body feels like it weighs 2x as much and 3gs = 3x as much....and so on). Rob had to get qualified up to 7.5gs.  He did so well...I cannot even imagine having to do it!  They record the entire thing and give you a copy of the video (below)

When he came home, he was exhausted and had g-measles all over his body.  (All the blood vessels pop from the pressure of the gs). He took a long nap then we headed to The Cove for lunch.

The Cove is known for its sustainable, organic, and local food.  They have gardens that you can tour right on the grounds and a map showing where all of the ingredients come from locally.  We ate burgers and sweet potato fries, Mexican cokes and homemade coconut macaroons. It was fantastic!

We had heard about First Fridays in San Antonio and walked down to it, hoping for something similar to Gallery Night, but it turned out to be a bust.  There was plenty to see on the Riverwalk though so we headed back there.  We headed to The Esquire, the oldest bar on the Riverwalk, and had a round of Moscow Mules (made with Tito's, of course). The Esquire has been open since 1933, the year after Prohibition and is filled with old, redolent charm.  We ended up staying there for a while before grabbing a late dinner of akaushi burgers at The Republic of Texas.

We woke up early Saturday morning to head to the airport, but not before devouring some Texas shaped waffles at the hotel ;). Our trip was way too short but solidified San Antonio, as well as a few other Texas cities, as must-sees on my bucket list.  I can't wait to go back!