Crock-Pot Turkey and Black Bean Chili

Ron and I love chili. I've been making it forever and my recipe is always different! That's what happens when you use up what's in the fridge and pantry and "eyeball" things! Usually the things that vary are different kinds of peppers, soy meat vs ground turkey, beans...etc.

I always make it in the crock-pot. It's really the most amazing thing. You throw a few things into a pot on your counter, go to work and come home to a steaming hot dinner and a house that smells all yummy and cozy!
Start with 1-2 cans of beans. This batch was initially just black beans but we ended up adding kidney beans later. A can of corn and a can or two of fire roasted tomatoes (I feel like the fire roasted gives it more depth and flavor. If you can't find them, try a jalapeno or garlic tomato!)
Next add a chopped onion and a chopped bell pepper and lots of fresh garlic. I like using all colors of the bell pepper but you can just use what you have in your fridge. Also- should you chose to use a fresh jalapeno- now is the time. My dad was coming for dinner this night and he doesn't care for extreme spice so I opted to offer jalapenos on top instead.

I tried to get a picture of how much spices I used because I don't usually measure my spices. Sorry!
Anyway this is what I use to make my chili yummy:
sea salt
chili powder
cayenne pepper
garlic powder
cinnamon
cocoa powder (or a block of baking chocolate that is unsweetend)
cumin
smoked paprika (I'd like to add that as I was typing that line Rachel Ray in the back ground said "smoked paprika"!! AND she's mixing cumin and cinnamon in with whatever it is she's making!! lol)
and of course garlic hot sauce (or smokey hot sauce... or BOTH!!)

Sometimes I use "veggie crumble" by Morningstar Farms. Sometimes I use ground turkey. Sadly, turkey is more affordable. So this batch was a turkey chili. If I have the time I like to pre cook the meat to give it more flavor. I heated a pan with a little garlic olive oil (again from Gustare Oils and Vinegars because I love them so much!!) and seared the meat just a little. Then I added about a tablespoon of tomato paste to add some color and flavor. When it was about 85% cooked I added it to the hot chili to cook the rest of the way.

Usually I bake cornbread to go with chili. But since Ron and I were running around that day and I had a "play date" with a friend in the afternoon I did not have time for baking. So we went to one of our favorite breakfast joints (Grumpy's) and got an order of corn cakes to go... and broke a piece off to put in the bottom of the bowl! Then we topped with chili, a little lowfat cheese, a dollop of low fat sour cream and either jalapenos or hot sauce!
The best part of cooking is sharing with your friends! And even better than that is sharing with friends who don't even like chili but still eat it and still enjoy it!! Thank you Kate for at least pretending to like black bean chili!! ;0)