• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut 1"
• 1 medium red pepper, seeded cut 1/2"
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1 jalapeno chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 15 oz black beans rinsed and drained
• 14.5 oz undrained diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• salt to taste

1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes, red pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic
2. Cook about 8 minutes until onions are tender; stir occasionally
3. Stir in chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper then reduce heat to medium
4. Cover and cook for 8 minutes; stir occasionally.
5. Add stock, beans, tomatoes and bring to boil; stir occasionally and let simmer for 15 minutes then remove from heat
6. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.
7. Season with salt as desired
8. If desired add shredded cheese, sour cream or more cilantro on top

 Hope this gives you a few ideas on how to decorate a fall table for a large crowd.

 Cut rectangle pieces out of the top piece you cut off to create sails. Scrape the melon part off so that they can bend easier. Skewer each piece onto wooden skewers to make them look like they are in the wind. Fill the carved out melon with all the balled watermelon pieces and add other fruit as desired. I used blueberries to add contrast and even put a few of the larger blueberries into the holes so it looked like cannons :) For the front sail scrape the shape of skull and bones into the skin of the melon. I ended up using my fingernail LOL it worked the best. I drew the shapes with a pencil and then scraped around the eyes so it looked like skull.
 Everyone brought treats to share...one person brought caramel corn in a treasure chest, Madeline made these super cool blueberry dyed cracked avovado devil eggs but I didn't get a picture of them :( but here is the recipe from Family Spice Note: we did not use wasabi
 For decorations in the yard Madeline had the kids place skulls and bones in the planter box by the patio and it looked so cool!
 As it got dark we hung up a white sheet from the trees to watch Pirates of the Carribean. Such a fun fun night!