My Chili Recipe & Other Comfort Foods To Make This Season

Chili is one of my favorite meals to have in the fall and winter. It’s hearty, flavorful, and pretty easy to make! I discovered this recipe for chili a few years ago and it’s the only one I make now! I have made a few tweaks to it to adjust it to our tastes, but I’m sure the original is very good. Here’s what I do:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded + minced (personal preference to not be too spicy!)
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
23 oz tomato juice
14 oz diced tomato
8 oz tomato sauce
8 oz kidney beans, drained + rinsed
8 oz pinto beans, drained + rinsed
Freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese for topping
Corn chips for dipping (this is a must for me!)

Directions

In a dutch oven*, cook ground turkey over medium-high heat. Drain any excess grease and set meat aside.
With the dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil, then onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and jalapeño and cook until onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir well.
Add cooked meat back into the dutch oven, followed by tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. Bring chili to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer you simmer, the more flavorful it becomes, so you can leave it for a couple hours, stirring occasionally.
Serve with whatever toppings you like! We usually just do freshly shredded cheese and corn chips to dip. You can add sour cream, diced avocado, jalapeño…whatever you prefer!

*if you don’t have a dutch oven, you can use a large pot!