My pumpkin kick continues.  Fall is here that gives me free reign to start making delicious chili and I couldn’t be happier.  This is a healthy option to traditional beef chili but if thats all you have on hand, feel free to use it.  I always encourage you to use what you have on hand or what your family loves to eat.

Ingredients:

2 tsp of olive oil
1 lb lean ground organic turkey (I used 94% lean)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (whatever color you have on hand)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 – 15 oz cans of dark red beans (low sodium)
1 – 28 oz can of chopped or crushed tomatoes
2 cups of pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/4 c of water
1 tsp of chili powder (I used a chipotle chili pepper)
2 tbl of ground cumin
2 tsp of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional:  I throw in one jalapeño chopped with seeds.

Toppings:
Low fat cheddar cheese
1 red onion, diced
1 jalapeño, chopped
Diced avocado
Chobani non fat plain yogurt (lower calorie and protein-packed option over sour cream)

Directions:
In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil.  Once hot, add the onions, peppers and ground turkey.  Cook until no longer pink.  Add the garlic & the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down, cover and let simmer for 1-6 hours.  Stirring, of course, occasionally.

The spoon was made for me by Carrie.  Here is the link to her Etsy page

http://www.etsy.com/people/pumpernickelandwry

I have a wonderful friend/chiropractor/therapist that  I use when I train.  He works on my injuries & is such a sweet guy.  We were talking about food one day and he was telling me that he gets Bison from one of his clients who raises them – free range etc.  During my visit on Friday, he gave me some ground up Bison and I thought I would give it a try in some spicy 5 alarm chili.  We all loved it!  The meat is extremely lean, not gamey at all – much to my surprise!  I will certainly be ordering some from his contact
2 tsp of olive oil
1 lb of ground Bison
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 -15 oz cans of Chili bean (undrained)
1 -28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 -8oz can of fired roasted tomatoes, diced
1 – 6oz can of tomato paste
1/2 c of beer
3 tbl of chili powder
1 tbl Worcestershire
1 tbl of dried oregano
2 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of hot sauce (like Tabasco)
1 tsp of basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of sugar
Shredded low fat cheddar for the garnish.

In your Dutch oven, I pour a tiny bit of olive oil in the pan and heat it.  Add the bison and cook until no longer pink.  Be careful to keep a watchful eye on it.  Add the onions, celery, peppers and garlic.  Cook for 4-5 minutes.  Then add the remaining ingredients.  Keep stirring.  Bring to a boil and then turn to low, cover and simmer.  I let this simmer for as little as 1 hour and as long as 6 hours.    Serve with jalapeño corn bread.