Chili was one of those things that always intimidated me.  I don’t know why.  I guess because people always talk about their “special” chili or their “secret” recipe.  People make a big friggin deal about making chili.  Sure, there are many different ways to make it and there is no one right way (hear that, Entire State of Texas?).  But I’ve gotta tell you… chili is just not that scary.

I clearly remember the first time I made chili.  Yeah, I’m a nerd like that.  My husband (then boyfriend) had a friend who had just gotten out of a bad relationship so he was hanging around more often than usual.  One Sunday he was coming over to watch football so I thought I’d attempt chili.  Football.  Winter.  Guys sitting in my living room. Seemed like chili was in order.

I took to the interwebs but there were too many options.  So I started thumbing through my cookbooks… I had a limited number back then, mostly ones that I received as gifts.  I did have one cookbook that I purchased for myself: Beat This! Cookbook: Absolutely Unbeatable Knock-’em-Dead Recipes for the Very Best Dishes and, as it turned out, there was a chili recipe that looked totally manageable!  Bingo!

The chili was made and the guys loved it.  No, neither were Texans but they both were dudes watching football on a cold winter day.  That counts for something, right?

Here’s the thing to know about chili… you want to keep your proportions right.  So you can substitute different types of meat, veggies, or even spices if you want.  Just keep the proportions right.  Adding more or less of anything can throw the flavor off.

This recipe is very easy, but prepping does take time.  There is a good bit of chopping involved.  I managed to find the time to make a big pot of chili by planning ahead.  On Saturday while my daughter was napping, I chopped everything and put it in the fridge.  On Sunday all I had to do was cook the meat and dump everything into the pot.  Plus, this giant pot of chili made 8 bowls — dinner for my husband and me for 4 nights.  So that meant a couple hours of work on the weekend for 4 nights off.  Totally worth it in my opinion.   Also, it reheats really well and freezes great.

Rockin’ Turkey Chili

• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine (Want more heat? Leave the seeds in 1, 2 or all of the chilies.)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp fresh dill
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp mild paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 lbs ground turkey (You can use whatever you want.)
• 1 35 oz can tomatoes and their juice (or one 28 oz can and 1 15 oz can — whole tomatoes or diced. Whatever you want.)
• 1/2 cup hot salsa (Whatever you like)
• 1/4 cup gold tequila (Go with it!  Trust me!  The flavor is terrific!)
• 1 cup beer (I’ve been known to dump the whole bottle in.)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• salt to taste
• whatever accompaniments you like — cheese, sour cream, chives, etc

Chop/mince the onions, pepper, jalapenos, garlic and dill.  Measure all of your spices into a bowl.

Heat a pan and add a little oil.  Brown the turkey.  I usually season with a little salt and pepper.  Also be sure to break up the meat really well.  You might need to do this in two batches.  Once it is cooked, pour into a strainer to get rid of the liquid.

Heat a heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add a little oil and saute the onions until they are soft.  Next add the pepper, jalapenos and garlic and cook just to soften.  Don’t let the garlic burn!

Add the spices and herbs and cook for just a minute to bring out their flavor.  Then add the turkey and stir it all together to combine.  This step helps integrate the spices into the meat, but it also ensures that you won’t see white bits of turkey in your chili… I hate that.

Next add the tomatoes, salsa, tequila, beer, and tomato paste.  If you want to skip the tequila, there’s nothing I can do about that other than to beg you not to.  So please don’t!  Pretty please!  Use the tequila!  It is delicious in this chili!  As for the beer… I like to use a brown or amber in this recipe.   Light beer doesn’t have enough flavor and dark beer has too much.  Just use something that you think tastes good because that flavor is going into your chili.

(Tomato paste tip: I hate how you buy a can and use a couple tablespoons and that’s it.  Put the leftovers into ice cube trays and freeze it.  I toss a few cubes into my chili and it was perfect.)

Stir it all together and bring to a boil.  Once it boils, reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for an hour.  Stir occasionally and taste along the way adding salt as necessary.

Cover or not? I use the lid to help control the wetness of the chili.  Leaving it on the whole time doesn’t let any liquid evaporate or concentrate the flavor.  Leaving it off, I find, makes it too dry.  So I usually leave it on for the first 20 min or so and then take it off while checking every few minutes. You can add water along the way to make it wetter (that’s why I usually just pour the whole beer in at the beginning).

Serve with whatever you like on top.

You’re going to love this chili.  I promise.  After serving my husband chili for dinner for 3 nights, I asked if he was getting tired of it.  ”No way… I could eat this every night.”  Seriously.  He said that.  Which was good because we still had another night to go.

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