It's Chili Time!

Chili is one of those dishes that is easy to pull together.  It’s classic one pot cooking which lends itself to easy prep and clean up.  Instead of using canned tomato sauce for my chili, I use jarred salsa.  It packs a lot of flavor in just one ingredient.  I still like to add some onion and green bell pepper for fresh flavor, color and texture. 

As for the meat, I usually use ground beef for chili for the rich meaty flavor from the browning step which you don’t get when using ground turkey.  However, I discovered a way to use lean ground turkey and still get a rich flavor by adding unsweetened cocoa along with the spices.  Adding chocolate is typical to some Mexican dishes like moles and I found it adds a nice layer of flavor to the chili when using ground turkey. 

Zesty Turkey Chili

Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon oil

1 ½ pounds extra lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons ground cumin

4 cups salsa

½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt or nonfat sour cream

¼ cup shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese

1.      Heat oil in pot over medium heat.  Add turkey and cook until browned, stirring occasionally to break up meat.

2.      Add onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cocoa and cumin.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.

3.      Add salsa.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.      Serve topped with yogurt and cheese.

Nutrition Information per serving (1 ½ c. chili, 2 tbsp. plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp. shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese): 418 calories, 15 g. total fat, 6 g. saturated fat, 86 mg. cholesterol, 1225 mg. sodium, 26 g. carbohydrate, 3 g. dietary fiber, 11 g. sugar, 47 g. protein

Zesty Turkey Chili with Beans: add 1 (15 to16-ounce) can black beans, drained with the salsa.