Turkey and Bean Chili

This recipe is from the February 2011 Real Simple magazine.

hands-on time: 15 minutes
total time: 40 minutes
serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound ground turkey
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper or 2 teaspoons chili powder
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Cilantro springs, for serving

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the turkey and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, and chili pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes (with their juices), the beans, 1/2 cup water, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with the sour cream and cilantro.

My Notes: I used our "slap chop" to chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. The only spice I had was chili powder, so I put in extra since I was missing other spices. I accidentally put in 1 pound (not 1/2 pound) of ground turkey and this recipe still turned out. We got the petite diced tomatoes. The petite was still too big for me, but large enough that I could eat around them. We didn't have cilantro, so we topped our chili with sour cream as suggested and cheese (our idea).

I thought this chili was a little bland the first night, possibly because not all spices were included, but we had enough leftovers for two more days, and it seemed to taste better each day.