Chris' Turkey Chili with Black Beans --- Perfect for a Cold Day! - TowneDigest.com
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Preparation time: 45 minutes, Servings: 15

Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 3 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 3 Tbsp. chili powder
- 3 Tbsp. ground coriander
- 2 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 2 Tbsp. parsley
- 1 Tbsp. basil
- 1/2, up to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 8 stalks celery, sliced
- 6 oz. tomato paste
- 6 Tbsp lemon juice
- 16 oz. canned Italian tomatoes, with juice
- 32 oz. (2 cans) pink beans or kidney beans, undrained
- 16 oz. (1 can) black beans, undrained
- 2 Whole Scallions, sliced

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Preparation:
- Saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat in large Dutch Oven or soup pot.
- Add turkey and saute until cooked through. Drain any fat from turkey.
- Measure spices into a small bowl and stir. Add combined spices to turkey and stir.
- Remove turkey from pot. Add celery to pot with a little water to "stir fry" it without oil, about 6 minutes.
- Remove celery from pot and add it to the turkey.
- Add tomato paste and lemon juice to pot and stir.
- Add Italian tomatoes to tomato paste and stir.
- Add all beans and scallions to pot and stir.
- Add turkey and celery back to pot and stir.
- Cover pot and heat to bubbling point, stirring frequently.
- Turn down heat and simmer on low, stirring frequently, for at least 60 minutes.

Note: This recipe, as with many one-pot meals, tastes even better the next day. This is a perfect make ahead dish for a fall or winter party. If you have a microwave you can heat your celery and your beans in separate dishes till thoroughly cooked while you saute the turkey. Then combine all hot ingredients and stir. This saves a lot of simmer time.

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Tell Me More:
I find this recipe is perfect for parties. I love chili of all kinds and have collected recipes for different types of chili, mild to extra hot, Arizona style to New Mexico style (which can be red or green and is made without beans).

This chili is a creation of mine that incorporates a lot of the richness of flavor of the New Mexico variety with the hearty carbohydrate appeal of a bean chili. Also I use lean ground turkey instead of beef. From the flavor, you can't tell that the beef is missing. What is missing though, is the level of fat.

Often in making chili I will use my Southwestern Spice Blend as an "instant" blended chili seasoning. In this recipe I use spices directly. You may think at first that it is too much (there is a lot of spice in this recipe) but remember, spices are just highly flavorful vegetable parts, so you are getting a lot of vegetables in this chili (and a lot of flavor). Cumin, coriander, oregano and cinnamon are all aromatic, not hot, spices. Most of the chili powder that we buy is mild and not hot. A mild chili powder adds flavor, not heat, so you can use more of it without distress. In this recipe the "heat" comes from the cayenne pepper so if you like things mild, omit it, or just use a dash. Also, serving sour cream as a topping for chili cuts the "heat.” A light sour cream topping will be lower in fat. Yogurt doesn't produce the same effect. Another great topping is chopped raw onion. Onion is a vegetable and is fat free, unlike grated cheese which is often offered as a chili topping.

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Nutrition: Basic Recipe: Serving size = 1 cup = 311 Calories. Serving = 1 1/2 Protein, (includes 4 g. of fat), 2 Carbohydrate and 2 Vegetable Exchanges. Nutrition (per serving): 311 calories Saturated fat 2 g Total Fat 5 g (21% of calories) Protein 21 g (27% of calories) Carbohydrates 40 g (52% of calories) Cholesterol 44 mg Sodium 781 mg

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