Ground Turkey and 4 Bean Chili

I made this recipe up myself and it always receives compliments.  It's a fairly simple recipe, with an attempt at being healthy. Most of the items are available in your pantry at any time, the only "special" thing you need to have on hand is the ground turkey meat. If you keep either a tray or tube of that in the freezer for a rainy day, you can make this any time. I like to make this when it's cold outside and there's going to be a football game on later in the day.  The good thing about this recipe, as opposed to Beef Stew (my other football/cold day favorite), is that this doesn't require a lot of time on the stove top. It's ready 1/2 an hour after you throw the final ingredient into the pot.

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey meat

4 cans of RoTel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles (12 oz)

1 can Tomato sauce (8 oz)

1 can black beans (16 oz)

1 can kidney beans (16 oz)

1 can northern beans (16 oz)

1 can pinto beans (16 oz)

1 can corn (16 oz)

1 lg yellow onion, diced

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground corriander

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Directions

Brown the ground turkey in a saucepan. When the turkey is browned, use a slotted spatula to transfer the turkey to a large, tall pot. Using a slotted spatula will allow any grease and water that came off the turkey during browning to mostly remain behind.

Put the diced onions into the same pan that you just removed the turkey from and brown them until they are translucent and soft. Transfer the onions to the large pot with the turkey.

To the large pot, now add the 4 cans of RoTel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles.

Add 1 can of corn (drain off water into sink first) and 1 can of tomato sauce.

Open, rinse with water and then add each of the 4 types of beans.  I rinse mine by not completely taking off the lid and using it to hold the beans in while I run water into the can. I then pour all the liquid out of the can (using the lid to hold the beans in). I do this process 2-3 times until the liquid is mostly coming out clear.

Now add the spices. The magic ingredient here is the unsweetened cocoa. It gives the chili a dark flavor and seems to thicken it up and make it richer overall.

Toss everything well. I put my stovetop burner at 3 (low) and let this warm up slowly to the point where it is simmering. I stir/toss it every 5-10 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pot. It doesn't really need to "cook" long, just to come up to temperature. I usually put a lid on it so that it will warm up faster, and then later take the lid off to let some of the liquid evaporate a bit, to make the chili thicker. It can be served within 1/2 an hour after you have started heating it.

This makes enough to server 6-8 people a heaping bowl of chili. It makes great leftovers too.

My husband likes to eat his with saltine crackers.

I usually make a big batch of cornbread to go with it, that's my preference. I like the cornbread to be more the "southern style", which is drier and less sweet, not so cakelike (more cornmeal, less flour, less sugar). Here is the recipe I use. It is from the back of the Pioneer Cornmeal bag. I simply double it.

Cornbread

2 cups yellow corn meal

2/3 cup flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1-1/3 cup milk

2 eggs

6 Tbsp oil

2 tsp sugar

Oven to 450 degrees. Oil an 11 inch round cake pan. (I use my Pampered Chef stoneware cake pan).

Combine all dry ingredients.

Add all wet ingredients and stir.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Here's the finished product, and then a shot of it right prior to being devoured. Happy Eating!

This article has been reproduced on my new blog website and can also be found here:

http://www.bakingindallas.com/ground-turkey-and-4-bean-chili/