Chipotle Turkey Chili

Last week, Joe and I finally cooked the FREE turkey that was at the bottom of our chest freezer.  We don't usually make turkey too often.  Like a lot of people, we only eat a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving.  We've decided that we're going to try to eat more turkey during the winter months. 

I made homemade broth with the turkey carcass and also diced the leftover meat and separated in 2 cup portions for future meals. 

I made a big pot of Turkey Noodle Soup on Tuesday and that turned out to be dinner for two nights in a row.  Perfect for a snowy Tuesday night dinner.  I'm pretty sure Joe enjoyed having a hot bowl of soup on Wednesday too since he worked outside most of the day on Wednesday. 

A couple of weeks ago, I found a recipe for Chipotle Turkey Chili online.  I knew right away that I wanted to make it, since it would be different than any of the other meals I made with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.

You can view the original recipe here.  As with most recipes I try, I adapted this either to simplify or to fit our tastes.

Chipotle Turkey Chili

Ingredients: 

• 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
• 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbs. chipotle chilies in Adobo, diced
• 1 1/2 Tbs. Oregano
• 1 tsp.  cumin
• 3 tsp. chili powder
• Oil
• 2 small onions, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 heaping tsp. minced garlic
• 1 15 oz. can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz. cooked ground turkey
• 1 1/2 cups diced, cooked turkey

Directions: 

• cook celery, bell peppers and onions in hot oil for a few minutes over medium heat.
• add the cooked ground turkey (mine was still frozen)
• once the turkey is heated through, add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes along with chipotle chilis in adobo and the spices
• stir until combined and allow to cook for a few minutes
• add diced turkey and beans
• bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover
• cook until vegetables are tender

The original recipe called for just the diced turkey.  When I make chili using beef, I like to use a combination of ground beef and diced london broil.  I decided that I wanted a similar texture with the turkey.  Having the pre-cooked ground turkey in the freezer made this super-easy! 

I also think that this would be a perfect recipe for the crock-pot, just throw in all the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. 

This recipe made a lot of chili and I'm really glad it did!  We LOVED it so much that we didn't mind eating it 3 days in a row!!!  It was soooo good, I couldn't bring myself to put the leftovers in the freezer (even if they would have fit in the freezer) so we just ate it until it was gone!  There is one small container left, perfect for lunch.  We really could have gotten a 4th night's dinner out of this pot of chili, but we ate some pretty hearty portions on the last night since we were trying to finish it up! 

I still have some diced and ground turkey in the freezer, so I have a feeling I'll be making another pot of this yummy chili before the winter is over.....maybe for Super Bowl! 


You can find this recipe linked to the following blog carnivals: 

• Chili Cook Off
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
• Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods
• Tuesdays at the Table
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Hearth and Soul Hop
• Tuesday Night Supper Club
• Delicious Dishes
• Tasty Tuesdays Bloghop
• Crock Pot Wednesday
• What's Cooking Wednesday 
• Works For Me Wednesday
• Show and Tell
• Whatever Goes Wednesday
• What's Cooking Wednesday
• Whatcha Makin' Wednesdays
• Look What I Made
• Make it Yours Day
• Penny Pinching Party
• Whassup Wednesday
• Recipes I Can't Wait to Try!
• Frugal Food Thursday
• Life in a Shoe