I have a confession to make: I don’t have a go to chili recipe.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I always fall back on my Mom’s chili recipe, which I love. But in my ongoing journey of learning to be a better cook, I wanted to experiment a little and try different chili recipes. Go beyond the beefy, tomato-ey concoction that my mom frequently serves and find my own recipe.
I’ve only actually tried one other recipe, a brown sugar chili, which I highly enjoy. But, I decided it was time to branch out to a new recipe this week.
So, while my dinner (roasted vegetables) sat in the oven, I made this lovely meal that screams “take me to work for lunch.”
I had bought ground turkey instead of ground beef at the grocery store on Sunday. Yes, I still enjoy red meat, but I randomly decided to go with the turkey this time. I surfed the Web at lunch today looking for recipes, but I couldn’t decide on one I liked, so I made one up.
___________________
Ingredients: Pound of ground turkey/beef, 2 1/2 cups tomato juice, 1/4 cup green pepper pieces, two 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder
Directions: Brown meat in big pot over high heat and then add the remaining ingredients. Then allow to simmer for 20 minutes before serving.
____________________
OK, a few things. First, I always get the ground turkey thinking it’s better for me and it really doesn’t taste that different than ground beef. It may be better for me , but it does not taste the same. And honestly, with chili, I like the ground beef taste.
Now, that I’ve gotten that off my chest, the recipe. I like it, but I think I want a stronger tomato taste. I realized looking back at Mom’s recipe that she uses tomato sauce rather than juice, which I’m sure has an impact on the overall effect.
Also, if you do not like garlic, you will not like this recipe. The garlic taste is so strong. Luckily, I love garlic, so it doesn’t really bother me much. However, overall, I think I’d like a little more tomato, a little less garlic. I might try it next time with the tomato sauce and see how that works because I think this combo of ingredients has promise. I just have to figure out the right measurements.
OK, with that, it’s off to bed. I have an 8 a.m. meeting tomorrow, so I’m setting the alarm for 6 a.m. Wish me luck in getting up!
Filed under: Recipes | Tagged: chili, Mom | Leave a Comment »













