Chili’n Out

I have rediscovered the wonders of my Crock Pot. By mid-week I am looking to cook something yummy that requires little prep work, makes little mess and provides tonight’s meal, plus leftovers that will take us to the weekend and that I can save right in the pot. One of my favorites? Turkey Chili. Or Chili Con Carne (chili with meat). You brown the meat, chop a few onions, open some cans, then dump all the ingredients in the pot and off you go- the magic crock pot does the rest! Chili is fast and simple to prepare, one recipe makes enough for a small army (see below) and served with some shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and some blue tortilla chips or corn bread-it is so delish!

Before I give you my Sparkpeople Healthy Recipe for Turkey Chili with Corn and Black Beans, a little “chili’ng” history via Wikipedia:

“In Spanish, the word “chile” refers to a chile pepper and “carne” means meat. The first documented recipe for “chile con carne” is dated September 2, 1519. The ingredients were boiled tomatoes, salt, chiles and meat. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of Hernan Cortez’s Captains and the source of the recipe, states in his book, that the Cholulan Indians, allied with the Aztecs, were so confident of victory in a battle against the Conquistadors the following day that they had “already prepared cauldrons of tomatoes, salt and chiles” in anticipation of a victory feast. The one missing ingredient, the meat, was to be furnished by the Conquistadors themselves: their own flesh.” YIKES!!!

Nowadays, we are a bit more civilized and typically purchase our meat at the local butcher shop or grocery store. My only conquest is beating everyone to the 10 items or less checkout line!

Now, although I am a country girl at heart, I am certainly not The Pioneer Woman, so I do not have a professional photographer handy to film each step of my cooking process. Instead, just click on the link for the Turkey Chili Recipe on Sparkpeople.com– it is low fat, low calorie-212 per serving, and it is filling, spicy and delicious! I have made a couple of adjustments to the recipe: instead of frozen corn, I add this yummy stuff:

And I usually throw in whatever else I have in the fresh veggie bin that would benefit from a spicy bath, like mushrooms, zucchini, peppers. And if I have a little calorie “wiggle room” (that does NOT refer to my thighs), I will add some shredded low-fat cheddar cheese and a dollop of light sour cream. The best one I have ever tasted-Trader Joe’s Light Sour Cream- if you didn’t see the label you wouldn’t know it was low fat and low calorie- absolutely delish!

Now, if you happen to have a crockpot recipe- can be meat or vegan- low calorie or not, as long as it’s tasty- that you love to eat and would love to share, please send it to me @ countrydesignhome@gmail.com and I will be happy to post it for everyone!