Monday, April 26, 2010

Home (Made) Easy: Turkey Chili

Here is a quick and easy turkey chili that I came up with one day. I had never made chili from scratch before so I didn’t have a recipe to go by. I always loved my dad’s chili but like me he always cooked by taste so he did not have a recipe written down so I was all on my own. This turkey chili has very few ingredients and despite using the slow cooker does not take a long time to make. If you don’t want to use a slow cooker or don’t have one just let the chili simmer in a pot on the stove for about 1 hour. The flavor of this chili gets better the longer it cooks.


Ingredients

1 lbs ground turkey
6 oz chunky salsa
1 packet chili seasoning mix (I use Hot Chili Seasoning for a spicier taste.)
1/2 packet taco seasoning mix
1/2 to1 cup water or chicken broth

Seasoning

Salt
Pepper
Seasoning Salt

Extra – If you like it extra spicy – add to taste
Cumin
Cayenne

1. Preheat slow cooker on high.
2. Brown ground turkey in a skillet and season with salt, pepper and seasoning salt.


3. Once the turkey is browned pour in 1 package of chili seasoning and 1/2 package of taco seasonings then mix thoroughly.


4. Add 1/2 to1cup of water or chicken broth and bring to a boil. Note: If you prefer a denser chili leave out the water. For a less dense chili add water to the desired thickness.

5. Turn heat to low, cover and let the mix simmer for 5 minutes.


6. Pour chili mix a long with 6 oz of salsa into the slow cooker.

7. Leave slow cooker on high for 1 hour then turn down to low for 2 hours.


The chili can be made the night before and left to simmer in the slow cooker on low overnight. This will intensify the flavors in the chili.

This chili is very versatile. It can be added to pasta or rice and can be used with nachos. It also freezes well.

Serve it with your favorite topping along with some garlic bread, cornbread muffins or crackers.

I served mine with corn muffins, half and half (Iced Tea and Lemonade) and chocolate chip cookies. The chili was topped with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

10 comments:

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

I make only my chili with turkey so healthy and delicious you have just made me crave some with this great pictures and your recipe love it so delcious with a dollap of sour cream chips and lots of cheese,but I use all fat free! :)

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Claudia, This is actually the first recipe I created myself. I like a certain taste to my chili and other recipes just never captured it. I also usually use fat free cheese and lite sour cream but this time I picked up the wrong bag of cheese but it was ok for this time.

Bentobird said...

All I can say is yum! Its chilly and overcast here today--this would be a perfect meal. Great photos, too :)

Awais said...

Looks awsome

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Jenn, Thanks, It was rainy and cold here on Saturday when my daughter asked me to make it for Sunday meal. Really like my recipe because it's so simple and I love the taste. Thanks for stopping by.

Marisa Lyn said...

Hi Awais, Thanks for stopping by. Yeah it turned out really well. Very simple and easy recipe for anyone and can be easily adapted to anyones taste.

mr. pineapple man said...

I can smell the chili from here!

Susan Yuen said...

Yummy!!! Love chili and turkey makes it even better! :D

Marisa Lyn said...

Hi mr. pineapple man. Thanks for stopping by. I'm very proud of my chili recipe and I wish you could really smell it. It smelled delicious.

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Susan, I've been cooking my chili with turkey since I came up with the recipe. I'm not sure how it would be with ground beef. Maybe I would have to tweak it if I ever used it but the turkey is fine with me. I think the turkey is more open to the flavor of the spices.