Turkey Chili

Pre-surgery, turkey chili was one of my favorite things to make. Frankly, it was about the only thing I did make. Everything else was takeout. My how things have changed! During my last Sunday cooking fiasco, I decided to make a batch, albeit smaller than I normally would (and I still gave half of it away to new guy...he's clearly benefiting from my small portion size). When I plugged in the nutritional info into myfitnesspal, I was pleasantly surprised. It's definitely one of the highest calorie per serving foods I've made. But I'm trying to be on the higher end of my 600-800 calorie range, not the bottom, so my current diet tolerates it well. I can eat a decent portion size of it (my serving size if about 3/4 of a cup), and it really fills me up and stays with me. You can definitely tweak any of this for what you prefer - particularly recommend trying out different beans and spices. You may also want more chunky tomatoes (I'm not a fan) or veggies like onions, etc. Enjoy!

Crockpot Turkey Chili

I'm sure you could make on the stovetop if you were so inclined. This recipe yielded about 9 cups of chili. It freezes GREAT.

• Half package of ground turkey
• Can of kidney or black beans
• Can of pinto beans
• Half-can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce (I used to use a full can of both, but decided to cut it down to a minimum just for some slight tomato flavor)
• Can of fat free low-sodium beef broth
• Can of fat free refried beans
• Chili powder
• Minced garlic
• Kosher salt

Brown the ground turkey. Throw it in the crockpot it with all ingredients above, except for refried beans. Put crockpot on low for 8 hours, medium for 6, or high for 4. One hour before it's done, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary and add the can of refried beans. This will give it a yummy thickness.

Spice tips: I like SPICY chili. Seriously, for this recipe I use over half a thing of chili powder (e.g., the normal spice size you get at the market) and could easily add more for my taste. But chili powder can intensify over cooking, so start with a tablespoon or less and check an hour before chili is done. Same thing with garlic. I use a huge heaping tablespoon, but you'll have to play with it. I probably don't do more than a teaspoon of salt, and I only add it towards the end if I think I need it.

I topped with Shelly's Spicy Yogurt Dip from theworldaccordingtoeggface.com. For the new guy, when he was over the other night, I put some of the chili on a toasted onion roll topped with cheddar cheese and yogurt dip and he was in heaven.

Serving size = about 3/4 of a cup, not including yogurt topping