Good Ol’ Chili

I’ve tried to make chili with chocolate among other weird ingredients.  My favorite chili by far is Texas Style Chili.  But if you are looking for plain ol’ good American Chili, this is a great recipe.  Pretty quick to put together and only 320 calories per 1 and 1/2 cup serving.  It doesn’t take all day to cook this chili and a lot of the dumping of the veggies and canned stuff was done by my kid.

Good Ol’ Chili
serves 6-8

1 Tb. oil (canola or vegetable or olive)
2 onions, minced (I diced as little as I could)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2″ pieces
6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/4 cup chili powder (get the good stuff from a local spice shop if possible)
1 Tb. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like heat or have little kids sensitive to spicy food)
1 tsp. dry oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (omit if you don’t like heat or have little kids sensitive to spicy food)
2 lbs. ground turkey (Costco’s ground turkey package weighed in at 1 lb. 12 oz. so I used that) – divided
2 cans of 15 oz. kidney beans, rinsed
28 oz. diced tomatoes
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth (I always use low-sodium then I can always add later)
salt and pepper!!!  (I forgot this and whew!  could you tell!  I added it to the bowls later)

1.   In a big dutch oven, or pot (mine was 5 qts I think) – heat the oil on medium.  Add the veggies and spices:  onions, red bell pepper, garlic and spices.  Cook 10 minutes – they’ll just be getting soft.
2.  Split the turkey in half and keep the rest in the fridge.  Add 1  pound of ground turkey and cook until cooked through – about another 5 minutes.
3.  Dump in the beans, tomatoes and broth.  Simmer for about an hour.
4.  Now take the ground turkey you put in the kitchen and break it off in to 1 tsp. pieces and throw into the pot.  This takes a while – but it was worth it in my opinion.
5.  Stir gently and simmer again for 40 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.
6.  Top with lime, sour cream, cheese, onions, cornbread muffins, etc.

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen “Healthy Family Cookbook”