Chili with turkey and beans

Everyone loves a good chili. Although Cooking Light's beef and beer chili is one of our go-to favorites, this Power Foods chicken chili is a contender. However, I make it with ground turkey instead of chicken pieces, just because I often have ground turkey on hand in the freezer. I also feel like the ground turkey adds some really great flavor.

Also. Be warned. This chili will make your kitchen smell like a fiesta. I take that back - it will make your whole house smell like a fiesta. Especially if you live in a small house or an apartment, for that matter. I mean, Zack walked in after work and was overcome by this simmering goodness coming from our stove. Furthermore, when I got to work the next morning, I realized that I smelled like chili because I had thrown on the same sweatshirt that I had worn while I was cooking the night before. That went in the wash pretty quick. It did smell good, but it kind of reeked of onion and the smells of cumin and chiles. You get the picture: delicious, but very fragrant.

Chili with turkey and beans

As adapted from Power Foods - 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 onions, finely chopped (about 3 cups)

5 garlic cloves, coarsely minced

1 green (or red, orange, yellow, etc.) bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped

1 3/4 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons chili powder

A heaping pinch of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 dried bay leaf

1 can (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes

1 can (4 ounces) green chiles, drained and finely chopped

2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt, for garnish (optional)

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cumin seeds over medium, stirring, until cumin is lightly toasted and aromatic, about 1 minute. Add onions, garlic, and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Push onion mixture to edges of pot, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and increase heat to medium-high. Add ground turkey, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano; cook until turkey is browned and cooked through, breaking into chunks and stirring until spices are evenly spread throughout. Add bay leaf to pot, then add tomatoes and their juice and green chiles; stir to combine. Bring to simmer. Add stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beans; season with pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to simmer again. Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer, uncovered, until bean mixture thickens, about 45-50 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with yogurt and/or cilantro leaves, as desired.

Evidently, this chili has a lot of ingredients, many of which could be played around with. You could switch out the turkey for chicken or ground beef, and you could also try different varieties of beans. I would normally use green bell pepper for this recipe, but they were out at the grocery store, so I threw in a combination of orange and yellow. The options are endless!

If you need a good, but healthful chili, this one is great. Here's to good and wholesome comfort food. Cheers.