Ilene’s “No Beans” Chili

I loooove chili, but I hate beans.  Absolutely despise anything with beans in it, except jellybeans. I always found it it interesting that for some reason, Asians like to eat legumes in their dessert, and roots for dessert, too.  (We are odd like that.)  So that means when I order chili, I usually have to pick out all the beans or make my own batch. And I’m picky about my chili- I like it thick, chunky and hearty, with lots of vegetables- so this recipe has evolved through a lot of tweaking. You can make this recipe with beef, but we are trying to be healthier these days, so I’ve been making it with turkey instead.  But every once in awhile I’ll throw in some hot chocolate powder and beer and that offsets any nutritional gain!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground turkey
• 1 pound of turkey sausage
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup canned corn
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 diced carrots
• 2 chopped jalapeno peppers
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 envelope of hot cocoa (optional)
• 1 can of beer (optional)
• 2 cups red beans (if you want to add beans)

Directions

1. Place ground turkey and sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients to a large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and chips!

Perfect for a cold winter day like today!  Or a Superbowl party!

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tagged as: chili, recipe