Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Here in Georgia, we've had a major cold snap this week. We had an ice storm (snowstorm for much of northern Georgia) that cancelled school for two days and threatened to take out the electricity (it did manage to take out the cable and Internet).

Weather like that calls for belly-warming food. Belly-warming food on a diet can be tricky.

Enter turkey chili. Warm, filling, hearty, nutritious, low in fat, it's the perfect Crock Pot meal for winter days.

If you think turkey tastes bad (I used to, until I started using only turkey breast), substitute lean beef or ground chicken. Either way, it's delicious.

And cheap.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
makes a lot. ;) (enough to feed three adults and two children twice, plus leftovers)

What You Need:

• 1 lb small red beans (or pinto, or kidney, or whatever you feel like using), dried, sorted through and rinsed (or four cans of beans, rinsed and drained)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 2 large bell peppers, roughly chopped
• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 2 cans of chili-ready diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 1 can of tomato sauce (4 oz)
• 8 oz water
• 3 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• cayenne pepper to taste (up to a teaspoon for hot chili)
• 2 tsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee (optional, but adds another dimension)
• 1/3 cup masa mixed with 1/2 cup cool water

How it's Done:

1. If you're using dried beans, cook them. If you're using canned beans, rinse and drain them. I use cooked beans almost always. They're a fraction of the cost of canned, and I've got some financial goals to accomplish this year, so it's dried beans for this household. I digress....
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the turkey with the onion and peppers.
3. In the crock of your slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients except for the masa mixed with cool water. That comes later.
4. Cover and cook on low for ten hours. Then, give it a stir, and decide if you want to thicken it up a bit. If so, stir in the masa flour combined with cool water. Cook and stir for a few minutes in the crock.
5. Serve with sour cream and/or cheese, over spaghetti, or with crackers, or however you like your chili. Freeze the leftovers. :)

A Giveaway, Something from Scratch, and Growing Fruits and Vegetables

Day 95.

In five days, I will celebrate my 100th day of blogging! To celebrate, I'd like to give away some of my favorite kitchen items. I haven't decided on everything I'm putting in the box, but here are a couple things I'm sure will be in there:

• White Lily Flour (There is none better in my opinion!)
• A bench scraper (A baker's best friend!)
• Vanilla extract
• 3 Madagascar Vanilla Beans to get you started making your own extract
• course AND fine sea salt
• some of my favorite coffee for you to enjoy on your kitchen break :)

I'll be picking up some essentials throughout the week and I'll keep you updated!

To enter:

1.  One entry for commenting here with your favorite recipe from my blog so far.
2. An extra entry for following (public followers only) via google. Please post a comment here letting me know you're following.
3. TWO extra entries for blogging about my blog in general or about my giveaway on your own blog, and linking back to mine. Post a comment here with the link back to your post.

I'll use random.org to choose a winner. Drawing will be on Saturday, April 10th, after 6 p.m. eastern time.

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Now, onto my gardening projects. I love fresh produce. What better way to get fresh produce than to grow it myself? I am growing in containers, as I live on a military installation and we're not supposed to grow in the ground. That does limit what I can grow, but I think I've done well. I'm growing cherry tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, potatoes, strawberries, rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil, and hot peppers. Here are a few pictures of my baby plants. I can't wait until we can go out on the back porch and pick some fresh foods and eat them.

Top to bottom: my first red strawberry, a bell pepper plant, and potatoes before being covered.

On the cooking front:

Yesterday, I was able to get back in my kitchen and it felt wonderful. I made Cornish Game Hens with Rice Stuffing, and a garden salad. Everything was so fresh and full of nutrients that our bodies all needed so badly after all the salty, greasy, processed foods we've been eating lately.

Cornish Game Hens with Rice Stuffing
Serves 4

What You Need:

• 4 Cornish game hens (about 1 pound each)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup of cooked rice
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese (Swiss is nice)
• 4 Tbsp butter, cut into 1 Tbsp slices
• Melted butter for basting the hens

How it's Done:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Rinse out the hens and pat dry. Lightly salt and pepper each hen, inside and out. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine rice, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and cheese. Mix well.
4. Divide filling evenly between hens, stuffing them quite full. Push a pat of butter into each hen.
5. Place breast side up in a baking dish with high sides.
6. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake an additional hour, basting with melted butter every 15 minutes or so.

Enjoy! I hope you all have a wonderful week. I am unable to do a menu plan this week, as I never know what my in-laws are going to want to do or eat. Next week, I can get back to my usual planning, cooking, and baking.