Turkey Chili

Right after I had my daughter, my friend brought our family a big bowl of chili, homemade cornbread and salad. We ate that for a week and it was fabulous! I took her recipe and changed it up a bit so I could make it in the crockpot (don’t judge me, I have a toddler and no time now)!

Turkey Chili

1 T vegetable or olive oil

2 medium sweet onions, peeled and chopped finely (I prefer to cook with Walla Walla sweets)

1.5 lbs. ground turkey

Heat oil in large skillet. Add turkey and onion, cook thoroughly. Drain off liquid and set aside.

1.5 tsp. ground oregano

2 bay leaves

1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1.5 tsp. salt (can add more later to taste)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

*chili powder to taste

(1) 28-oz. can whole tomatoes

2 c. low-sodium beef broth

(1) 8-oz. can tomato sauce

(3) 15-oz. cans small white beans, drained & rinsed

In a large crockpot, add the meat mixture and the rest of the ingredients. Stir and cook on low, 4-6 hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh chopped cilantro and/or hot sauce.

Notes:

• I left out the chili powder and it tasted fine to me, but I don’t like spicy foods.  You can also add Tabasco to taste during or after cooking.

• To save time, you can pre-cook the meat mixture the night before then refrigerate and all ingredients to crockpot the next day. Or, you can mix everything up, refrigerate the whole crockpot, and turn it on in the morning. I have also pre-cooked the meat and frozen it to use when needed.

• Try different kinds of beans (I accidentally bought garbanzos instead of white beans and it’s looking pretty good!) or a combination of ground turkey and ground beef or chicken.