Killer Chili

Early this morning, say 8am I was already thinking about what to have for dinner.  I of course had no clue so I decided to sit at the computer while drinking my cup of coffee and look at some recipes.  Well even before getting to the computer it jumped into my mind...Chili!  OK I have never made such a delicious mean before so I thought why not.  It can't be that difficult right? 

So I sit down, coffee in hand, and direction known, chili.  My mission to find out what most people use in their chili, I looked up a ton of different recipes on the internet till I got a good idea of what I would put into mine.  Finish the cup of coffee then off to the grocery store between client sessions.  This is one of the pluses of having a split schedule, NO ONE in the grocery store at 9am, short lines and I can get in and out in no time. 

During my drive to the store I was planning my ingredients and upon arriving i needed to sit a minute to type my list based in what I remembered I had at home and what I needed to but.  See if I don't have a list me and my AAADD can end up buying all the wrong stuff.

Whew out of that place in 10 minutes and off to put the ingredients together.  When I get home my girls are excited to see me and so before I can get the fun started I decided to give them some attention, and of course that always helps elevate my energy and mood.

I tear open the package of turkey toss it in a pan to brown it, and on top of it I smother it with cumin, Mmm Yum!  While my turkey is cooking I cut up my veggies and drain my beans.  I decided to go with canned beans and sauce since it was a week day and I wouldn't have time to soak the beans or cook down the tomatoes. But I did opt for the low sodium, organic when possible.  In the crock pot go the tomatoes, chillies, onion, green bell pepper, garlic, oregano, and cayenne pepper.  As soon as the turkey is done I drain what little fat there is and mix the turkey into my mix.  On goes the crock pot to a low setting and off I go back to work.

All afternoon I could not get it off my mind, is it going to be too spicy or what?!?!?!  Well I had a slightly late night and arrived home by 8pm at which time I needed to feed my cats, then put the rice on to cook.  Thirty minutes later the rice is ready and I DIG right in........WOW, I can't believe I actually made something GREAT without following a direct recipe. Its the tastiest, and healthiest chili I have ever had, AND i didn't have to add anything to it. 

So now you are probably wondering what the ingredients were?  Well here ya go....

2lbs Organic Lean Ground Turkey
2 large Green bell peppers
1 medium Yellow Onion
2 minced cloves of Garlic
15 oz. Tomato sauce
30 oz. Diced tomatoes with Jalapeno pepper
4 oz. Fire Roasted Green Chilies
30 oz. Dark Red Kidney Beans (50% reduced salt)
Couple Pinches  Oregano
1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tbsp Cumin (on turkey in browning pan)


My thoughts on the flavor and changes for the future...Flavor is delicious you wont need to add salt or put melted cheese on top of it, and nope I think won't be making any changes in the future.  Thanks for reading and best of luck in your attempts at replicating this delicious healthy way to make chili.