Turkey Chili

Last winter, I made this chili probably every other week. It is hearty and full of flavor, and it can really warm you up on a cold day. I love this chili because:

1. All in all, it’s pretty healthy.

2. The ground turkey, beans and tomato sauce are essential, but you can take the liberty to add whatever vegetables and herbs you have/want/like to make it a little different each time.

3. It’s a great recipe to make when you have a lot of veggies stocked in the fridge and need to get rid of them quickly. As a matter of fact, that’s what inspired me to make it today (that, and my best friend/roomie, Jen, has been asking for it for a couple weeks!)

(I also enjoy toasting and buttering some bread to eat alongside it)

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 yellow onion

1 leek (white and light green parts only)

6 cloves garlic

2 red bell peppers

3 carrots, peeled

3 stalks celery

1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, black beans or cannellini beans

1 (15 0z.) can whole-kernel corn
1 (28 0z.) can white hominy
1 can Rotel tomatoes (with green chiles)

1 (28 oz.) cans Hunts crushed tomatoes

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Seasonings (I often use Lawry's seasoning salt, crushed red pepper and a mixture of dried thyme/fennel seed/basil/oregano)

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Also, heat additional olive oil in a separate skillet.

2. Dice/slice the onion and leek. Mince the garlic.

3. Add the onions, leek and garlic to the heated olive oil and mix. Then dice the celery, carrots and bell peppers and add to the pot. Season with salt and pepper.

4. In the skillet, add the ground turkey to the heated olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown.

5. Add the Rotel tomatoes and chiles to the pot and mix.

6. Drain and rinse the beans, corn and hominy. Add to the pot and mix.

7. Add the cans of tomato sauce and stir. Add the ground turkey.

8. Season with the aforementioned seasonings and dried herbs.

9. Cover and bring to a boil.

10. Once the pot comes to a bowl, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour to ensure that the flavors blend and vegetables are tender.

11. Enjoy with fresh bread or freshly grated cheese.