This morning, we awoke to about an inch of snow on the ground. This was our first snowfall of the year. I'm so thankful it happened on a weekend so I could commemorate by making my favorite chili - turkey chili. I've won two different chili cook-offs. One with my "sweet" chili and the other with this one. Of the two recipes, this is my personal favorite. It was also perfect to make today as my friend Jen made us a loaf of her crusty brown bread and she sent the link to the recipe and her tips so I could share it with you.
The beauty of this turkey chili recipe is that it can be done in an hour or it can simmer for several hours and just get more and more delicious. Today, I definitely used the simmer for hours method.
The spices I use for this are purchased each summer (or in an online order) from my favorite spice shop in Alden, Michigan - the Alden Mill House. You certainly don't have to use their blends but they are incredible. If you can't get their blends just use combos of the spices that work well for you. Miracle Blend is a salt and pepper blend. Geno's Chili Blend is an incredible chili powder blend and Italian herb seasoning is pretty standard in most spice aisles.
Turkey Chili
Ingredients
2 lb ground turkey (for today's version I used 1 lb ground turkey and leftover turkey from Christmas Day cut in small pieces)
2 med sweet onions, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, finely chopped
4 - 5 medium celery stocks, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 T olive oil
2 T tomato paste
2 T Miracle Blend
2 - 4 T Geno's Chili Seasoning
1 T ground cumin
2 T Italian Herb Seasoning
28 oz pureed tomatoes (I often simply use tomato sauce)
1 8 - 14 oz can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 8 - 14 oz can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 8 - 14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinshed
1/2 of a 1 lb package frozen corn
1 package shelled edamame
32 oz beef stock
Instructions
- Brown the ground turkey in your dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Once turkey is browned, reduce heat to medium low. Add in olive oil and cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic until softened. This takes about 10 minutes
- Add in the tomato paste and mix well. Cook until the tomato paste is fragrant (about 2 minutes).
- Add the spices & herbs. Stir well to combine. Cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
- Stir in pureed tomatoes. If you're making this in an hour, let this simmer for about 30 minutes. If you're making this and letting it simmer for the morning of afternoon continue with the rest of the recipe and then let everything simmer together.
- Add beans, corn, and edamame. Blend well.
- Add beef stock to fill your dutch oven. Reduce heat if needed to a simmer and let the mixture simmer for several hours.
I've left this to simmer all day if needed. A full. eight. hours. of delicious smelling goodness.
This freezes well so making this huge batch ensures leftovers for the week and some for a few weeks from now.
My friend Jen made us a loaf of crusty bread a couple of weeks ago so I pulled that out of the freezer and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I sliced some up and warmed it in the toaster oven. This is the recipe she used. I would also love to try the honey oat bread for the chili as well. Jen calls the bread ridiculously simple and she said that she lets it proof overnight in the fridge.
What is your favorite chili recipe?