Chili was the first meal I ever served to friends at my own apartment, and as such, it has a special place in my heart.  In my 20s I was a nervous chef.  While there is much more to that story, in that phase of my cooking life I was focused on getting the recipe ‘correct’ and hadn’t yet realized I could invent and play around with ingredients and flavors.  I give chili some credit for this transformation after many pots with too many jalapenos or not enough salt, but of course always just the right amount of cheese.

Tonight, I used this recipe and learned some new tricks! My hope was to use up several ingredients that I had left over from the week, as well as some beans I pulled out of the freezer that I had made about a month ago when I had a hankering for black bean burgers.  Such a comforting meal as we ease into this first weekend of holiday celebrations!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion (1.5 cups)
• 1 carrot (3/4 cup)
• Mini sweet peppers (2 cups)
  • The original recipe called for bell peppers, but I’d been looking for something fun to cook with these adorable little guys (see picture above).
• Spices: garlic, chili powder, cumin, bay leaf and oregano
• 1 pound of turkey
• 2 cups of stock
• 1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar (I used cider, white was also an option)
• 30 oz of beans

Steps and Notes:

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot.  Add the onions, carrots, sweet peppers and a bit of salt.  Cook for about 6 minutes.
2. Add spices
   • Garlic (2 teaspoons), cumin (1 teaspoon) chili powder (2 tablespoons)
   • Let this cook into the sauteed veggies for 1 minute
3. Add the turkey
   • Stir with a wooden spoon to break down the turkey as it cooks into small bites
   • Cook until there is no more pink meat
4. Add 2 cups of stock, the vinegar, 1 bay leaf, oregano and finally the beans
5. Bring up to a boil and then down to a simmer.
6. Cook with the lid on for 30 minutes then with the lid off for 30 minutes
   • After the first 30 minutes I tasted it and added a bit more chili and some more salt
7. Serve with cheese and a dollop of greek yogurt. Optional: Cook up some rice or quinoa.