Turkey Chili

I am home from work today with Madeleine who has strep throat.  I took her to the doctor after work yesterday for a cough that has been lingering for a week along with a gross nose that led me to believe she had a sinus infection.  I was right on the sinus infection but was surprised when the strep test came back positive, since she never once complained about her throat and she hasn't had a fever.

Good little employee that I am, I logged on to work this morning to get a couple of hours in but I kept losing my connection, so I gave up for a while.  I'm not having an issue with any other websites so I am taking the opportunity to do a little sale shopping (shhh, don't tell) and a blog update.

I made Pat Monahan's Turkey Chili (lead singer for Train) from the latest issue of Rachael Ray's magazine over the weekend.  I haven't been able to eat ground turkey since I was pregnant with Madeleine, so I subbed in the same amount of boneless skinless turkey tenderloins that I cut into chunks.  Three tablespoons of oregano scared me a bit so I decreased it to 2 and upped the amount of chili powder and I also cut the oil back a bit.  By the time 2 hours were up, the turkey chunks had started to fall apart and the chili itself was a nice deep red.  Yum.  This went over well with the kids, although I did catch the little guy piling up the black beans on one side of his bowl.  Maybe next time I'll use kidney beans instead.

Pat Monahan's Turkey Chili
Modified from Every Day with Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
Three 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
Two 15.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup dry red wine
4 bay leaves
Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving
 
In a large dutch oven, heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Working in batches, add the turkey and cook until browned; transfer to a bowl.

Lower the heat to medium-high and add the remaining half tablespoon olive oil to the pot. Add the bell peppers, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oregano, chili powder, cumin and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, black beans, wine and bay leaves. Stir in the turkey and 1 cup water, lower the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. To serve, top with the cheddar cheese.