In the fall and winter I love to make pots of stew, soups, and chili that we can stockpile in the freezer for easy meal options. Over the holidays we made a ham and used the leftover ham bone and meat to make a split pea and ham soup. I also recently made beef stew with yams instead of regular potatoes, a tasty and healthy substitute. This weekend we made Turkey Chili, see my recipe below. I tripled the recipe because we had four packs, 2.1 kilograms, of extra lean ground turkey. This was too much for my french oven so I had to split it into two pots. The result was dinner for the week and three large containers went into the freezer for later. We put on some tunes-today’s theme was classic rock-The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix, popped a bottle of Prosecco, and started chopping.
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped carrot
- 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed or finely chopped
- 1-2 diced bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, or green)
- 1 jalapeño pepper chopped (optional)
- 1- 15oz can of kidney beans
- 1- 15oz can of black or pinto beans
- 28oz of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
- 2-3 tbsp of chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups of water or chicken stock
- salt & pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven, add turkey and cook over medium heat until browned. Remove turkey from pot and add garlic, onions, carrots, and celery, sauté for ~5 minutes. Add bell peppers and jalapeño pepper and sauté for a couple more minutes. Return turkey to pot and add spices. Add beans, tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cups of water or stock (until meat, beans, and vegetables are just covered). Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and simmer for 45-60 minutes.
If Chili is too thick, add more water or stock as needed.
We like a bit of a kick to our chili so add a whole jalapeño, you can use more or less as desired.
Happy chopping!!
I love my Le Creuset French Oven and use it all the time. They are pricey, but often go on sale and are stocked at places like HomeSense at a discounted price. Definitely worth the investment – https://www.lecreuset.ca/cookware/french-ovens/ There are also less expensive options out there.
