Ground Turkey and Black Bean Chili

What could be better on a cool day than a bowl of chili? For chili lovers, not much.
I used to always make chili using store bought chili beans.
But, I would buy dry beans for this recipe or that and I had a lot of them so I decided to try using them in my chili.
And I am glad I did. Yummy!!!!

You will need a 3 quart or larger pan.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound dry black beans, you can also use 2 (15oz)cans black beans
1 medium onion
1 chili pepper
1 pound ground turkey
1(15oz) can chopped tomatoes
salt
pepper
chili powder
chipotle powder
1 potato chopped- optional

If using the dry beans, soak them out and cook.
When the beans are about halfway done, season with salt, pepper and about a 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder.
Add some of the onion.
If using the canned beans, add the seasonings and onion to them and simmer together for 10-15 minutes.
Do not drain the beans.
Meanwhile, cook the ground turkey with the remaining onion and chili pepper. Season with salt, pepper, and chili powder.
Drain the meat and add to the beans.
Add the chopped tomatoes.
Add the chopped potato now, if using.
Season with the salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1-2 teaspoons chili powder.
Add 1 teaspoon chipotle powder.
Taste and add more if you like.
Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat and put the cover on.
Stir occasionally.
Cook on low for 2 hours or until the chili is as thick as you would like.

Serves 4-5.
Serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese and maybe some crackers.

Spanish Rice

This is a favorite dish of mine. My mom used to make it a lot as I was growing up. In fact, this was the first meal I ever made all by myself.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup long grain rice

1 pound ground beef, turkey, or venison

1 white or yellow onion, chopped

1 Anaheim Chile or green pepper, chopped- optional

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 teaspoon chili powder

scant 1/3 cup white sugar- optional

28-32 oz. tomato juice

In a medium pan add 2 cups water and season with small amount of salt. When it comes to a boil, add the 1 cup rice. Cover and turn down heat. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the water is completely absorbed. Remove from heat.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, cook the ground beef with the onion and pepper. Season with the salt and pepper as you cook it.

Drain the meat, if needed.

When the meat is cooked, add the rice to the pan. Pour in the tomato juice. I like it a bit saucier so I use the full quart, but you can use a bit less.

Add the chili powder and optional sugar. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like.

Turn on heat to medium high and stir occasionally. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat down. Continue to cook about 30 minutes or until you get the consistency you want. Also, continue to stir every once in a while.

It is important to have the heat on low at this point or you could scorch the bottom and ruin it.

This makes a nice big pot and will feed 5 people unless you have big eaters in the house.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Pasta Salsa

Pasta is very big in my house. So I am always trying to come up with news ideas for meals.
And this is what I came up with.
You can use any salsa. Either make a double batch of the fresh salsa recipe or just use some from the store.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
2-3 cups pasta of your choice
32 oz. salsa

In a large pan brown the ground meat, seasoning to taste. Drain, if desired.
To the meat in pan, add the salsa and heat to boiling. Add the pasta and cook until pasta is done. Since different shapes cook faster go by the directions for an idea of how long to cook.
Stir occasionally.
Once pasta is done, if the dish is not as thick as you'd like turn down the heat and let simmer for a few minutes longer.
Serves 4-6.
Very quick, simple, and tasty.
I hope you enjoy it.

Ground Turkey Casserole

This is a great dish, especially on a rainy or cool day.
It is my daughter's favorite.
Originally it was made using ground beef, but I use ground turkey most of the time.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Uses a 2 quart casserole dish

Ingredients:

1 (10-1/4 oz.) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 (10-1/4 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10-1/4 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
1 large chopped onion
1/2 cup minute rice soaked in 1-1/2 cups warm water for 1/2 hour. Or cook 1/2 cup long grain white rice in 1 cup water for 15 minutes until water is absorbed.
salt and pepper are optional.

Brown the ground meat with the onion. In the casserole dish mix the meat, rice, and soups. Season with salt and pepper if you wish.
Cover the casserole and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the casserole and bake for 30 minutes more.
Serve.

Serves 6.

Using low fat soup works wonderful in this.
Enjoy!