Three Bean Turkey Chili

This recipe brought a film crew from Seattle to my house about this time last year. It’s that good. Really, I kid you not. They dropped by to film a webisode of What’s Cooking for Allrecipes.tv featuring little ole’ me cooking away in my kitchen. Goodbye comfort zone! Three of my four boys got in on the action too.

I’ve been a dedicated user of Allrecipes.com since I stumbled across it back in 2004. Since that time I’ve prepared and reviewed hundreds of recipes, had many of my own published on the site and have become involved on a much deeper level than I ever imagined. The What’s Cooking shoot came at a particularly busy and chaotic time. I was in the process of planning our end of the season water polo banquet, Thanksgiving was days away, and we were just a couple of weeks away from a major rehaul of our kitchen. The video will serve as a record of our old, original white tile counter which is now history. Although I consider myself a behind the camera kind of gal, it was a blast and a nice distraction from the chaos.

Michael Ketchum (above) and David Albright from Allrecipes really know their stuff and the resulting video is so much fun. Thanks guys. Come back to San Jose any time. You can watch the What’s Cooking segment here but come back so we can make chili!

This recipe is the result of over twenty years of tweaking and modifying. It is quite a departure from where it started. As my boys grew and became fans of Mexican food, I started changing it up, adding in a variety of beans and Mexican spices. I like to serve the chili with lots of toppings for everyone to choose from – cheese, sour cream, cilantro, chopped bell pepper, chopped tomato, the possibilities are endless. It’s one of those meals we can all feel good about. Hearty enough for my athlete sons but light and healthy for the rest of us.

Here’s what accounts for the three bean part of this recipe. One can each of pinto, kidney, and black beans.

Rinse and drain the beans. Pretty aren’t they?

Many of my recipes call for wine. Coincidence? I think not. Open up a bottle of red or use whatever you’ve got open.

Cook and stir the ground turkey in a large Dutch oven and then drain the grease off.

Now everything goes in . It’s as simple as that. Add all the remaining ingredients, adding the spices last. Stir it all together, reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer on low heat for two hours or transfer to a Crock-Pot and let it go on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Lets talk about heat. I add crushed red pepper to achieve just the right amount of spice for us. Adjust the amount up or down to suit your taste or add some diced jalepenos if that’s your thing.

We have turkey chili folks.

Dive in!

Turkey Chili

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• Optional condiments – cheese, sour cream, cilantro, bell pepper, tomato

Directions:

Cook and stir the ground turkey in a large pot over medium heat until crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, onion, garlic, and red wine. Season with chili powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 2 hours. Stir the chili occasionally as it simmers.

Remove and discard bay leaves before serving.

Crock-Pot method: After adding all ingredients to Dutch oven, transfer the mixture to a Crock-Pot, cover, and cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours.

From my published recipe on Allrecipes.com