I hope everyone had a glorious holiday season as I did this year! Food, family, friends (though I could have used more friend-time), gifts, singing, and all that good stuff--and it's not quite over yet! I had my share of cookies, cake, pie, rich foods, peppermint mochas, and chocolate--so much chocolate! Tell me of your holidays, I wish to hear!
Sometimes, you just need a ton of veggies after the holidays. Like me, you're craving them after the ridiculously rich food and decadent sweets of Christmastime (I'm not kidding, I out-sweeted my sweet tooth this year). That's where chili comes in--still hearty, filling, and delicious, but incredibly healthy and filled with good stuff! And you can use up some of that leftover turkey!
UPDATE: Just a note. This recipe got rave (RAVE) reviews from my husband, who said that from now on, this is the only chili I will be making. Just a bonus that it's so dang healthy!
Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 large red onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 bell peppers (of varying colors), seeded and diced
2 zucchini, diced
1 small butternut squash (or any variety, really), peeled, seeded, and diced
3 15 oz. cans of beans, varieties of your choice, drained and rinsed (I used cannellini and kidney)
2 cups leftover turkey, diced or shredded
1 pound ground chicken or turkey, or more leftover turkey
1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
2-3 cups chicken/turkey broth
2-3 T. chili seasoning (we used Penzey's CHILI 9000)
For extra spice: ancho or chipotle chili powder
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a LARGE stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, and peppers and sautee until tender and onion is translucent. Add in the raw ground meat, if you're using it, breaking it apart with the spoon. Cook until browned a bit. Add in the zucchini and butternut squash, and cook until a little tender (about 5 minutes--it doesn't quite need to be cooked through). Toss in your seasonings at this point, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, and leftover turkey--bring to a simmer, turn heat to low or medium low, and allow to cook for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cook until it reaches the consistency you like (we like our chili thick), and correct any seasonings.
Serve hot and top with your favorite chili toppings!
This could easily be thrown into a slow-cooker (though I recommend browning the onions and meat first for flavor) and cooked on low for 8 hours.
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