Who doesn't like to eat a nice hot bowl of chili on a cold day or even during a football game?! I love chili and I love making it. My husband and I have tried many different varieties of making our chili from scratch. After many attempts I have finally found the perfect blend of beans, ground turkey, tomatoes and just enough spices that it doesn't burn your taste-buds away but still brings the punch of flavor.
Some days when I make my chili I use 1 pound of ground turkey and on others I use 2, it just all depends what mood I am in....and what I have in the fridge.
When it comes to tomatoes in chili I am a little picky about the size of the pieces in my chili. I am not a tomato fan as it is but I know they are good for you and they taste good in certain recipes (not everything) but are a must in chili. So to fix the problem of the size I toss the stewed tomatoes in my food processor and pulse them a few times until the large pieces are just perfect, not completely macerated but small enough so you aren't biting into huge chunks.
Another great thing about my chili recipe is that you can control how spicy you make it and if you aren't a spicy eater you won't be sacrificing flavor for the loss of heat. During our last pregnancy spicy was not a friend of mine so I had to adjust the heat and it was just as yummy. The Rotel tomatoes are my secret ("were") interchangeable heat adjusting ingredient
1-2 lbs ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS chili powder
1 TBS cumin
1 TBS cumin
2 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can italian style stewed tomatoes
1 can mexican style stewed tomatoes
2 cans Rotel tomato ( I use 1x original & 1x Hot)
salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
Brown turkey along with the onions and garlic.
While the turkey is browning drain and rinse your beans, set aside. Then get your stewed tomatoes pulsed to your preference (this step is optional if you don't mind larger pieces of tomato in your chili).
Do not drain juices before stirring in chili powder, cumin into the browned turkey.
Add the stewed tomatoes and Rotel stir.
Now add the beans, stir and then cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to keep the chili at a low and slow simmer. I simmer my chili at least 2 hours stirring constantly throughout the cooking time to prevent any sticking or burning. After the 2 hours are over take a little taste and add salt & pepper to your taste. I usually just add a dash of salt and pepper, not too much.
Now add the beans, stir and then cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to keep the chili at a low and slow simmer. I simmer my chili at least 2 hours stirring constantly throughout the cooking time to prevent any sticking or burning. After the 2 hours are over take a little taste and add salt & pepper to your taste. I usually just add a dash of salt and pepper, not too much. 
Too funny!!! I was going to comment on here wondering about your chili recipe :-) I plan to enter a chili contest on January 26 at Minocqua Brewery. When I told my brother about it he said to add chocolate! He doesn't, but heard that all the good chili recipes have chocolate in it. Have you heard this? Have any of your followers tried it with success? I don't plan to try it with this competition but would be willing to try after.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I use to make my chili the way you do but have taken my Mother-in-laws recipe and "tweaked" it.
By the way....I never liked chili until about 6 years ago!!
I have heard of people putting chocolate into chili and I have even heard of others adding peanut butter....not this gal ;-) Chili is one of those dishes the has SO many different variations that it is nearly impossible to make a chili that everyone is going to love in the same way. Some like more beans, others say no meat or you can't use ground turkey, never frozen only fresh meat, add corn or even potatoes. I say make your chili with what ever ingredients fancy your taste buds.
DeleteWhat happened 6 years ago that changed your mind about chili?
I've been looking for a good chili recipe =)Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you like it....this is one of my favorite go-to recipes!
DeleteThat's a good question Stephanie! I'm not real sure, I think it was because Reg liked it and I had his Mom's recipe that he liked so well and just took it from there. I have yet to make it the same way twice! I use to use canned beans with spices (I use dried beans now), I used the Whaoo Chili that Holly loves, now I use chili powder and chili flakes or whatever "moves" me at the time. I don't measure the ingredients. I use bacon, celery, mushrooms, garlic, onion, canned tomatoes unless I have some fresh from the garden. Beef is the base meat but will put pork sausage in sometimes.
ReplyDeleteHolly also introduced me to putting cheese and sour cream on top which I like as it doesn't seem so "hot" that way. Reg likes it hotter than I do :-)
Arianne loves my chili and wanted the recipe so I had to write things down as I did it. Now my brother wants it too so I'll have to do it again this next week when I prepare for the Chilly Chili Challenge at Minocqua Brewing Company on Saturday, January 26. I love the prizes....they will go to the top 3 with ceebrity judges judging....the top prize is pride and the honor of being the best-of-the-best! This should be fun ;-)
I forgot....I also put peppers in my chili! With at least one jalapeno.
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