Turkey Pumpkin Chili



Turkey Pumpkin Chili

Where have I been? I bet you are thinking I have gone into winter hibernation. Well that is kind of true! We are moving into my least favorite season of the year.... COLD! I hate Cold Season. LOL! No really, I have been busy cooking, but not baking so much. I have been on a 21 day cleanse and for those of you out there who have cleansed you know energy is at a minimum. But.... I AM BACK! And while Cold Season is my least favorite time of the year, I have a tons of comfort food recipes for this time of the year as well as holiday recipes from my family. So.... with any luck, for the next few months, you will be reading so many recipes from me that you will wish I was hiding in a cave somewhere!

So, when we were on our 21 day liver purification, we were restricted to only veggies and fruit for the first 10 days and then thankfully after day 11 we were allowed to eat lean meat. In the fall, on Sundays, there is nothing I love more than to put a pot of chili on in the afternoon and watch football (GO STEELERS!) While on the first 10 days of veggies, I kept saying I want chili, but I was restricted to what ingredients I could use. On day 11 the challenge was on: I was chili or bust.!!  I have had this recipe in my book of tricks for sometime and while it intrigued me, I was a little leery of whether or not it will WOW! me. Boy, am I glad I gave this a try. I think that this will be "my go to chili recipe" now. I have tried so many healthy chili recipes in the past and all were mediocre. This one is fabulous and you don't even realize that is is ground turkey or pumpkin for that matter. When I made this chili and told my friends it had pumpkin in it they looked at me like my cleanse had also erased my common sense but after the first taste they realized that this healthy, vitamin A and C packed chili was Pumpkin-licious!

 

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

 

Get a bowl- it is going fast!

 

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cup chopped onion

1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped

2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles

2-3 large clove garlic, minced

2.5  pounds ground turkey

2 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 (14.5 ounce) can red kidney beans

2- 14.5 ounce can pumpkin puree

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper to taste (at least 3 good shakes)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped Plus more for garnish

Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green chiles, and garlic until tender, about 10 minutes. Make room in the center of the skillet, add turkey, and brown, about 10 minutes.

Browning meat and peppers. Smells great!

Stir in tomatoes, beans, and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, and cayenne.

The easy part- opening cans.

Reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes. Make sure to stir often. This is very thick and could burn.

After the ingredients are together you only have to cook for 30 min.

Stir in fresh cilantro. If preferred, serve topped with extra cilantro.

Recipe adapted from Eating Well Magazine