Happy Monday everyone! It has been absolutely freezing cold here in Columbus the past few days so what better meal to have than a nice hot bowl of turkey chili. You can make it two ways: with beans or without! Olé

For the first 25 years of my life I didn’t know what chili was. I know, tough to believe, but I grew up in Florida so I should get a pass on that! When it felt like 100 degrees in the shade most of the year, ice cream sodas and pool parties – YES! Hot spicy chili – not so much! I’m sure there are people, who eat chili in Florida, but I wasn’t one of them and it certainly wasn’t in my mother’s recipe box.
When I moved to New York, a whole new culinary world opened up to me. Among the many recipes I have tried, these are among my favorites: brisket, white chicken, vegetarian, eggplant, and of course this turkey chili. And yes, I will get the eggplant chili recipe up soon – it’s amazing!

How did I come up with this recipe? When my boys were young, I didn’t cook very often; they kept me pretty busy. In NY you can find great prepared kosher food everywhere. My local butcher made the best turkey chili I had ever had (it was also the only turkey chili I had ever had!). Also, the only chili I had ever had! In the winter I would pick up a container at least once a week and my whole family loved it. I added some corn bread, chips, guacamole (before avocado was the “it” food, and a salad which made for an amazing meal.
One day I brought some home and it was so spicy we couldn’t eat it. Although I called and asked if they changed the recipe, they said they had not. The next time I bought it, it was still too spicy so I made it my mission to figure out how to make it myself. I took the spicy container of chili, spread it out on a plate and wrote down all of the ingredients I could see and taste, analyzed it, and attempted to recreate it. I have to say, after a couple of tries, mine was a much improved version and I can make it as spicy as I want it to be!
One thing I added was a rainbow of peppers. The original only had green and red, but I wanted to boost the amount of vegetables and color of the dish; they add such a nice sweetness. My other change was to make it white meat only, although you can use a combination of both, it’s personal preference. This is such a great recipe to have on hand. It cooks in just about an hour and the leftovers are great. It freezes well and can be used in so many ways. Of course it’s amazing as chili, it can also be served in a taco shell and I have been known to wrap it up in a flour tortialla, add guacamole, shredded lettuce and tomato an make a burrito!
It’s healthy, easy and so delicious and now that I live in a cold climate a nice hot bowl of chili and shoveling the driveway – yes, pool parties – not so much but an ice cream soda every now and then is just fine! Add a salad, cornbread, guacamole, salsa and chips to the table and your party begins – Olé!

Enjoy!

This recipe makes 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients:
2 – 2 ½ pounds white meat turkey chopped meat (or a combination of both white/dark)
1 large sweet onion diced
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 red pepper cut in a large dice approx. ¾” pieces
1 yellow pepper cut in a large dice approx. ¾” pieces
1 green pepper cut in a large dice approx. ¾” pieces
6 stalks of celery diced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed (for bean version)
1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans drained and rinsed (for bean version)
1 (14-½ ounce) can zesty diced tomatoes seasoned with mild chilies
1 (28 ounce) can chopped or stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
6 to 8 large garlic cloves minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

optional toppings: diced avocado, pico de gallo, crushed chips, diced onion

Directions:
In a large frying pan add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat on medium-low then add the ground turkey. Break it up as you cook it. Once it is just cooked through, turn the heat off, drain it and set aside.

Into a large stock pot add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat on medium-low, then add the diced onion. Cook until just until translucent (about 5 to 8 minutes). Add the garlic, celery, and all of the diced peppers. Stir until combined. Allow to cook for about 5 to 10 minutes then add the cooked turkey. Mix the turkey with the vegetables.

Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste, mix well. Cover and cook for about 30 to 45 minutes on a low simmer until it’s just bubbling, the peppers are tender and everything has become one. Add your salt, pepper, chili powder, and cayenne to taste.

At this point, the non-bean version is done. If you are team bean add the beans and cook about another 30 minutes or so stirring occasionally.