Hello, 2020! Such a strange thing to both write and say aloud. I remember years ago thinking 2020 was so far away. Now, it’s here and here to stay. If your goal for this new year or even decade is to eat healthier (but without much sacrifice of flavor), I have the perfect recipe for you this month! I love most food, but one food that I’ve never been able to embrace is ground turkey. That is, until I have masked it with tons of seasoning to where I can get past eating ground turkey. Turkey in general is extremely lean and lacks flavor. This is why it’s important to give it a lot of seasoning. The perfect way to introduce yourself to ground turkey is in a great big bowl of chili! 

My kids devoured this chili, as did my husband, and luckily, no one questioned the meat. It wasn’t until after dinner when I revealed that this was a turkey chili. If you have leftovers, here are a few ideas for ways to repurpose the leftover turkey chili. The first option is to make turkey chili and cheese stuffed zucchini boats. (Slice zucchini in half, and scrape the interior flesh out with a spoon. Spoon on chili and bake until bubbly and cheese is golden in color.) Another idea is a chili “taco” salad with sour cream, cheese, and chopped fresh tomatoes on a bed of romaine. My third option is one of my favorites…a chili stuffed potato. This can be a traditional white potato or sweet potato. 

I love making big batches of soups, stews, and chili and freezing leftovers for an easy weeknight dinner. If you have any leftovers of this magical turkey and black bean chili, you can always freeze the chili. The safest way to freeze (any food really) is to let your chili cool to room temperature. Then, place in individual servings for an easy weekday lunch or in one large container or bag for another full meal (depending on how much you have left over). I like to use a freezer Ziploc bag, label it with a sharpie marker, and place it in the refrigerator. The next day, once the chili is cold, I lay it down flat inside my freezer. It will stay good in the freezer for up to three months. To defrost, simply take out of the freezer the day before you want to enjoy it and place it in the refrigerator to thaw out.

I hope that I not only inspired you to eat a little healthier this year without sacrificing the flavor but also gave you some good ideas on how to store leftovers, have creative ways to use up leftovers, and have less waste in this new year! 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 5

Ingredients: 

• 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon minced dried garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 10-ounce can-fire roasted ro-tel
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, add the grapeseed oil to the pan and the ground turkey. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
2. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into bite-sized pieces, and stir periodically.
3. While the turkey cooks, prep the onions and bell peppers.
4. Next, reduce the heat to medium and add in the dried garlic flakes, salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano.
5. Mix well, then add in the diced onion and red and orange bell peppers.
6. Stir in the fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, drained black beans, and frozen corn.
7. Mix well and simmer on the stovetop for 20 minutes.
8. Divide evenly among bowls, and add toppings of choice.