Crock Pot Chili

I’ve said before that I was a weird kid when it comes to food. I was a very picky eater. I’ve been trying a lot of things lately that I’ve refused to eat my whole life, and turns out, almost all of them have been extremely pleasant surprises. Chili is one of those things.

Last week, my boyfriend made chili with ground beef, a seasoning packet, and a can of beans. It smelled really good so I tried it and I absolutely loved it. Chili is something that I’ve been adamant about hating all of my 21 years. Whenever my mom made it, I would refuse to eat it and make myself Spaghetti-Os. What a waste! I’m sure her chili is super delicious, too. Sadly, I can’t take back the past. BUT, I can make amends by making lots of this chili in the future!

After tasting how good chili from a store-bought seasoning packet was, I knew I had to make some from scratch. And I wanted to healthify it by using ground turkey instead of beef. Yesterday while perusing Target’s shelves, I saw Crock Pots on sale for $12.99—an absolute steal! I assume they go on sale when the weather gets warm because a lot of people only think about and use them in the winter. Long story short, I immediately bought one and vowed to make chili in it the next day.

This recipe is originally from Cooking Light (where else?), but I modified it by using turkey instead of beef and added a few things. It’s incredibly tasty, and I’ll definitely be making it again—after I finish the leftovers, of course. This is also a really healthy recipe—very low-calorie and low-fat, and packed with veggies, protein and fiber. Perfect!

Note for spice-lovers: My boyfriend likes really spicy food, so he added some hot sauce before eating—if you’re one of those types, feel free to up the ante by using hot sauce or more of the other spices in the recipe during the cooking process.

Ingredients

• 1  pound  99% fat free ground turkey
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper (you can use green too if you like, but I prefer red)
• 1/4  cup  water (you can also use a very dry red wine)
• 1  tablespoon  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  (15-ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained
• 4 oz. tomato paste

Cook the turkey in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until brown, stirring to crumble. Add chopped onion and the next 7 ingredients (onion through garlic), and cook for 7 minutes or until onion is tender. Place meat mixture in an electric slow cooker, and stir in beans, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Note: The original recipe didn’t call for tomato paste, but some of the reviews said to add a bit to thicken it up. Feel free to use a whole 8-oz. can—I used half a can, but next time I think I’ll use it all. It definitely wouldn’t hurt.

Cover with lid, and cook on low-heat setting for 4 hours. Spoon into bowls; sprinkle with cheese and other toppings of your choice.

Note: The chili can be made on the stovetop if you don’t have a slow cooker. After adding the beans and the tomatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, partially covered, 1 1/2 hours.

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Your cast of characters. Not pictured: chili powder. I thought I had some, but I didn’t, so I had to make my own. Here’s a recipe for chili powder if you’re in the same predicament. It worked just perfectly.

The first thing you should do is chop up your onion, pepper, and garlic. Pretty, aren’t they? Chop them according to your tastes—if you like really chunky chili, dice them larger. If you hate chunky chili, dice them a bit finer. I did a medium dice.

When that’s all taken care of, brown your turkey. Break it up as you go. I left it in fairly large chunks with some smaller ones mixed in. Again, size it according to your tastes.

Stir in your veggies, garlic…

…water or red wine, and spices. At this point, though the recipe doesn’t explicitly state it, I lowered the heat to a medium-low and covered the pan. Then let it sit for about 7 minutes until the onions are sort of translucent.

Now transfer it to your slow cooker. Ignore this part if you’re making it on the stove top. Set it to high.

Now stir in your tomatoes, tomato paste, and kidney beans. Don’t drain your beans or tomatoes! They add vital liquid to the chili.

Let it come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover it, and let it go for four hours. Waiting is the hardest part—your house will smell absolutely amazing!

Then, dig in! I served it with a serving of baked tortilla chips, freshly chopped onions (I love onions), and a tablespoon of fat-free cheddar on top. If I had some low-fat sour cream, I would’ve added a dollop of that as well. Top it with whatever you’d like! This would also be good with some cornbread, yummm.

The recipe claimed it would serve six, but if you’re being realistic with yourself (and I was), it’s about five medium servings (or four large). I dished out about a cup and a half as my serving, and it was rib-stickingly filling. We’ll definitely be enjoying the leftovers tomorrow. The nutrition facts are based on five servings, but if you end up doing six or four, you’ll have to recalculate:

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories: 221
Fat: 1.9g
Cholesterol: 40 mg
Protein: 26.6g
Carbohydrate: 26.1g
Fiber: 8.1g
Sugar: 6.7g