I’ve never been a fan of chili – until I discovered this recipe. A while back, we were members of Prep Dish (a really awesome and helpful meal planning tool & a huge time saver) and the basis of this recipe stems from a recipe I got from them. I took the recipe and kind of broke it apart, kept the parts we liked, got rid of parts we weren’t big fans of and added in my own spin on things and now I have a chili recipe thats become a staple in our household. We eat a batch at least once a month if not more than that and I love it!!!

I love so many things about this chili!
One –  It’s incredibly healthy (lean meat, vegetables, and spices).
Two – It’s amazingly simple, easy and quick to prep (cooking takes a while)
Three – I can spend about 30 minutes making a big batch and freeze it into portions and I’ve made dinner for about 4 nights.

Ingredients: (amounts for one batch – makes about 4 servings depending on how big of a bowl you make)
1 lb ground turkey
1 large red pepper
1 large onion (yellow, videlia, sweet – any of these work)
14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (my favorite is Trader Joe’s)
14.5 oz can low sodium chicken broth
14.5 oz can kidney beans
Chili Powder
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Red Pepper Flakes
Paprika
Salt
Pepper

The batch in the photos below is a triple batch – so I used 3 lbs ground turkey, 3 peppers, two onions, 3 cans of tomatoes, 3 cans of chicken broth, 2 cans of kidney beans and a ton of spices!

Step 1: Brown the turkey & add the spices to the meat.
Unfortunately I’m a bit of a dumper when I cook, meaning I don’t take exact measurements of spices, I just dump in to what looks good. For this recipe it’s something I’ve just figured out over time. You’re big stars of the show in this recipe are going to be the chili powder, cumin and garlic powder. The other spices just add some flavor. I’d recommend just putting in a tablespoon of the chili powder, cumin and garlic powder and a teaspoon of the other spices when adding them to the meat. You’ll be adding more of the spices later, so you don’t want to over do it. As my mother always said…

“You can always add more but you can never take away” – Mama McQuaid

Step 2: Dice up the pepper & onion. 

Step 3: Drain the turkey grease from the pot once its completely browned. 

Step 4: Add the pepper & onion to the pot. Stirring occasionally, let the onions get soft – about 10 minutes.

Step 5: Dump in the fire roasted tomatoes & chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally.

Step 6: Once it’s at a boil, drop the temperature down to low heat and simmer uncovered for at least two hours (the longer the better).

Step 7: If you’re not freezing the chili, add in the kidney beans now that you’re simmering & serve once the beans are hot. 
If you plan to split this batch – half for freezing and half for eating immediately, after it’s been simmering for about 2 hours freeze the portion you want to freeze and then add the kidney beans to the batch you will be eating today. The kidney beans don’t freeze well, so you add these in right before you’re going to eat them.

If you froze a portion, to reheat – defrost the batch, dump into a pot and turn on the heat. Plan to let it simmer for at least an hour again. You’ll probably also want to add in some more spices & then add in the kidney beans.

I always serve this with a salad & some homemade garlic cheese bread.